Don't accept lifts from strange men.

I was a bit confused with your commentnannashirlz until I realised the spelling error…phew!

The trend of answers seems to be "say no - sign of the times". Would a feasible alternative be to say "thanks very much, it is very wet -- could I just send a photo of you and your car to a friend, that's what Gransnet advises for this situation"??

Good to know you’ve “still got it” OP!🤣🤣

I still remember- with horror - accepting a lift from Harlow station to my digs. The driver took pity on me as I had a briefcase, case and portable typewriter. He was so kind but I was still an IDIOT to get into a strange car. I was 19 and it went against EVERYTHING I’d been told. I’m still here to tell the tale but can’t believe I behaved so stupidly.

My ex used to hitch rides (it was quite common where he lived)
He got in the car with a nice man, and they were chatting, then the man asked ex to look in glove compartment (is it still called that?)

Anyway, when the ex opened it, it was full a gay porn mags.

Better safe than sorry. I would never get into a car with someone I did NOT know fairly well.

I would of called a Taxi from the shops.

Ever heard of a guy called Worboys?
A taxi driver...

Am I the only person on here who finds it strange that a driver stopped for a woman he didn't know? Given the way that society is nowadays (sadly) it just seems a very odd thing to do. I think I'd be telling the Police - not 999 obviously, but whatever number it is we contact when it's not an actual emergency. There may be other similar reports in that area and they should be aware.

In the north of Scotland and on the islands it's still common to ask for or to offer lifts. If someone is dressed for hiking, you wouldn't but in driving rain and wind definitely.

I can still remember a, strange to me, woman with a car full of kids stopping to offer me a lift on a rainy day . I refused as I'd been told to never get into a stranger's car. This was over 65 yrs ago but it still rankles that my DM , instead of praising me, said it would have been fine to accept because there were children and it was a woman!

It is a sad situation now. My dear old uncle, in his eighties, used to stand at his front gate every afternoon and chat to the children and their mothers, walking past his house, when school finished. Sometimes children drew pictures for him, and they shared sweets. It was a bright spot in his day. One day he told me that he wasn't going to do that any more; he said he had read some terrible things in the newspaper, and if he talked to the children they might feel it was allright to talk to men in the street.

Well strange reversal here. I live about 1.5 miles from town centre, and a high proportion of the area is bungalows, and lots of retired folks. Before COVID, I would always drive, stop and be accepted. Will minimal rates here, and high vaccination levels, I am gradually getting back. I find older men think I am strange and mostly refuse, but ladies more than happy to. Stopping to ask a gent leaning on a wall last week, he almost fell into my car. He told me that he needed a doctor's appointment and the only way to get it was to walk into the surgery by 8:30 and hope they take pity on him. He needed his asthma and heart meds checked but had been trying to get through for weeks. I found him the number of the community transport bus and delivered him to the surgery door. But it did make me go back to offering even if I get strange looks

No, I wouldn' t get in with a man or a woman.Nowadays the only thing to do is offee somebody an umbrella!

I think he just wanted to help an elderly woman in the rain.

When out for a long walk (alone) out of my village along deserted country roads a man in a van (with no back windows) passed me. The road is long, but it's a dead end with few houses and a couple of farms. A few minutes later I spotted the same van parked up in a kind of lay-by. The man was just sitting in the driver seat. Now I know it was probably nothing, but I do not take unnecessary risks. So I stopped walking well before I got to the van and flagged down the next car that came along - which was an older lady in a cute little red Fiat 500. I explained my predicament and asked if she would give me a lift about half a mile - just far enough away from the van and back into 'civilisation' . I have not walked out that way alone since.

Good to listen to your gut reaction JustkeepswimmingDonna.

I think long lonely walks along a road are not a good idea. I think we have to be alert as we would have been in pre historic times and engage the senses. The world is a different place from that of our childhood. Sadly.

Nannashirlz Yes, I know. Just human nature seeing someone in such horrible situation to offer help. Suppose a case of being willing to help but not willing to accept any. Life is full of risks.

I accepted a lift home after a night class but panicked when he turned off in the opposite direction. I asked him where he wad going and he explained that the country road would be quicker than the main road. He wad right and I felt embarrassed for suspecting him.
Another time I offered a lift to a man from a different class as he was going for a late train. I hadn't interacted with him at the class and he seemed pleasant but when we got to his house he invited me in which I thought strange as it was 11 at night.

Talking about lifts I was in the pub one night when a man fell of his stool drunk. Apparently he lived near me so some other customers helped him in to my car and we set off to take him home. Unfortunately none of them knew which house he lived in and he couldn't tell us.
When I stopped he pointed at a house and one of the men ran up to tell his wide. An elderly lady in a dressing gown answered and had no idea who he was.Eventually rang his daughter and delivered him to an angry wife.

I bet there was a bit of an atmosphere in his house the next day.

I accepted a lift in his lorry from a young man I only knew by sight 65 years ago, a year later I married him 😍

Ahhh... thats lovely.
65 years!!!

I think most people would refuse wouldn’t they ? And by the same token, most men innocently offering a lift to a woman in similar circumstances would entirely understand the refusal. I hope so anyway.

MissAdventure

I bet there was a bit of an atmosphere in his house the next day.

His daughter was in tears.

If never get into a strangers car, ever. Even decades ago. It isn’t a safe thing to do