If You See This Person on the Road, Don’t Pull Over

Are you used to picking up hitchhikers on your long commute to work? You might want to hear about the hitchhiker road scam. This trick preys on unsuspecting drivers.

The scam typically starts with a person posing as a hitchhiker, who flags down a car on the side of the road. They may claim to be stranded or in need of a ride to a nearby town or city.

In some cases, the hitchhiker may ask the driver to pull over at a specific location, such as a gas station or convenience store, where they will then disappear with the driver’s money or other valuables. This scam can also be done in groups, where a bunch of people will flag down a car and ask for a ride, and once the car is on the move, they will threaten the driver and steal money, valuables, or even the car itself!

It’s important to be aware of this scam and to always be cautious when picking up hitchhikers. It’s best to avoid giving money or other valuables to anyone who claims to need a ride, and to never pull over at a location that is not safe or familiar.

Hitchhikers are not the only reason why you might get into trouble on the road. A slice of cheese isn’t something you’d expect to find on your parked car, am I right? Well, it might indicate something quite dangerous. One woman told the story of such an experience online, thinking it was just a prank made by some neighborhood youngster.

She decided to call a friend and ask for help with cleaning the car up. But once the two ladies started rubbing off the melted cheese from her windshield, they saw something strange nearby. She remembered seeing a white van arriving. In it were a bunch of men, suspiciously staring at them.

She wasn’t alone, so she decided it was safe enough to finish cleaning up the car, even though they didn’t feel comfortable being stared at. It took them almost an hour to scrape off the cheese that had melted under the heat. She did wonder, though, if this wasn’t a tactic to rob a person.

That’s because most people would be so focused on cleaning up the mess on their car, they’d be distracted from keeping an eye on the thing they left in the car, like bags, wallets, or even recent shopping items. Or worse, what if it was a kidnapping strategy?

That sticky cheese would keep a person really concentrated on fixing the car, so they wouldn’t be able to see suspicious people coming at them in due course. The key takeaway from this story: if you ever see a piece of cheese on your car, might as well leave it as is, as long as it’s not blocking your view, and it doesn’t really affect your driving. Your safest bet is to just clean it at home. Or take it to the nearest car wash, they’ll know the best way to clean up the vehicle without ruining the paint.

Sure, the “piece of cheese on a car” scam might be just a coincidence. But some scams out there are more legitimate, with this next one being quite the unusual method when it comes to snatching away other people’s cars. If you notice a t-shirt or a hoodie on your windshield or even wrapped between your wiper blades, don’t be so quick to take it away. Again, it can be placed there on purpose to distract you while your car gets taken away.

Drive away as quickly as possible, if you can, and get to a safe location that’s well-lit and filled with many people. There you can remove whatever object you have on your car without any risks. Some people have even found money under their wiper blades. It’s easy to imagine that those who left it there probably had the same intention in mind.

There are methods to help when it comes to decreasing your odds of getting your car snatched away: Keep your tires turned to the curb whenever you park it. If your car wheels are in that position, thieves are less likely to be able to move around with the vehicle. They will see that your car requires more time and energy to be moved, so it will become less of a target.

Sadly, scams on the road are quite common, and one of the most widespread types is the infamous tow truck scam. This scam involves leaving oil, metal nails, or glass shards on the road and waiting for drivers to fall into the trap. If your car gets damaged in such a situation, the scammers will suddenly appear out of nowhere and offer to provide towing services at extremely high prices.

They will try to pressure you into using their services because most of the time they place these traps in strategic locations. They make sure people get stranded where there is low visibility and no gas station in sight where you can assess the damage done to your car.

In a situation where you have no other option but to give consent for them to tow your car, they will also take advantage of the situation and take it to workshops unapproved by your insurance company. This means you will have to pay even more money to get your car back.

If you’ve been a driver for long enough, you know that the driver who rear-ends another vehicle is always at fault. That’s because you should always keep a comfortable distance from the car in front of you, so you can safely stop the car in case of an emergency. Some scammers will take advantage of this by repeatedly braking suddenly, causing you to hit them.

This dangerous tactic is used to get money for supposed damages and even for make-believe medical expenses. To avoid falling victim to this scam, you should reduce your speed and keep a safe distance, especially from suspicious vehicles or chaotic drivers. If a scammer continues to bother you in traffic, the best course of action is to drive to the nearest police station and report them.

Picture this: You are driving on the road and suddenly a motorcyclist gets your attention and points out that your wheels are smoking. You quickly pull over to the side of the road. The motorcyclist then offers to “help” by calling a “mechanic” to check your wheels. Surprisingly, the “mechanic” gets there really fast but proceeds to disable your braking system while “inspecting” the cause of the smoke.

He then asks you to test your brakes, which of course won’t be working since he’d already disabled them. Pretending to be helpful, he offers to “fix your breaks” for you but will charge an enormous price for it. Moral of the story: stick to your trusted mechanic or towing company. You never know who you’ll find on the road.

Some scams aren’t even that, they’re just urban legends. Many people claim to have seen the “Wrong Way Man” on the roads. One version of this story mentions a man stuck driving down one-way streets in the opposite direction, causing chaos and confusion as other drivers try to avoid him. The man is said to be crazed and dangerous, with a wild look in his eyes and a penchant for reckless driving.

Other stories say he’s not even driving, but that once you’ve seen this mysterious person on the side of the road while driving home, you should turn around to keep from going back to your house for at least a week. That is if you don’t want anything bad to happen. There are countless stories of near-misses and close calls with this mysterious figure. Some even say that they have been hit by the man and that they suffered serious injuries as a result.

Despite the many sightings and stories, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the “Wrong Way Man” actually exists. Many experts believe that the legend is simply a cautionary tale, meant to remind people to be aware of their surroundings and to drive safely.

However, the legend persists and continues to be passed down through generations, making it one of the most enduring urban myths of all time.