I have hitched rides in the USA, Mexico, and Honduras- all in the 90s. Even in the 90s the USA was the absolute worst of the three by far. Hours spent hitch - mostly hiking. I think there must have been a tipping point in car ownership somewhere in the 80s where only poor people hitched. In Honduras in the 90s the vast majority of the people did not own cars. So maybe only poor people are hitching you feel a little easier driving by. I dunno. I would not hitch today in Honduras or Mexico for safety reasons.