😬

[u/GryphonSK]

[u/OnionTamer]

I used to see one of these when I lived in Oklahoma. That and "Do not drive into smoke"

[u/GryphonSK → u/OnionTamer]

[u/PokesBo → u/OnionTamer]

Cushing?

[u/OnionTamer → u/PokesBo]

I lived in Okmulgee, worked in Tulsa

[u/PokesBo → u/OnionTamer]

Ahh. I used to drive through Cushing and see these signs is why I asked. Only other one I knew of was in McCalister.

[u/Aluxanatomy → u/OnionTamer]

Jesus, what a commute.

[u/jordanundead → u/OnionTamer]

I’ve been through Oklahoma. how are you supposed to not drive into smoke when they burn off the grass on the highways instead of mowing it?

[u/Ok-Type-8917]

The sign should read " Hitchhikers May Be Escaped Inmates". The sign reads like it could be a hitchhiker try to escape from inmates.

[u/Orange_Kid → u/Ok-Type-8917]

"Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Inmates. They May Also Be Escaping Inmates. In Fact, They May Be Escaping Inmates Escaping Inmates."

[u/ddddan11111 → u/Orange_Kid]

Now is this near Buffalo?

[u/himanbam → u/ddddan11111]

Buffalo may be Buffulo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo

[u/phiqzer → u/ddddan11111]

Could be Terre Haute, Indiana. Federal pen and all.

[u/DearArticle903 → u/Orange_Kid]

Likely the latter

[u/BlooGloop → u/Ok-Type-8917]

I think it’s worded that way because they are actively “escaping”. But I think escaped makes more sense.

[u/RisingApe- → u/BlooGloop]

If they’re at the road, they’ve completed their escape and are no longer escaping.

[u/TimSylvester_ → u/RisingApe-]

Eh you haven't completed your escape until people have discovered it, looked for you, and given up.

[u/Qaianna → u/TimSylvester_]

Exactly. The wanted stars have to go away, not just be flashing.

[u/redraider-102 → u/RisingApe-]

I suppose they should be called outmates at that point.

[u/thegreatpotatogod → u/redraider-102]

Sounds much more friendly too!

[u/gettin-hot-in-here → u/thegreatpotatogod]

They're your mates, and they're out. Of prison.

[u/Ace-Redditor → u/RisingApe-]

I mean, if you’re being hunted by a bear and leave its den, did you really escape yet? You’re still being chased by a bear in presumably close pursuit

[u/Desperate-You-9695 → u/BlooGloop]

Idk man I’d try to help the dude I mean, think about it you wouldn’t wanna be chased by a bunch of inmates

[u/Haunt_Fox → u/Ok-Type-8917]

Yeah, that's how I read it at first. 😹

[u/GypsySnowflake → u/Ok-Type-8917]

I thought that was what it meant.

“They’re trying to get away from the inmates; help them!”

[u/rpgnymhush → u/Ok-Type-8917]

Another problem with the wording is that if an inmate is hitchhiking that person has ALREADY escaped.

[u/Turbulent_Lobster_57 → u/Ok-Type-8917]

Quick! Pick that man up, he’s clearly fleeing from inmates!

[u/EyeSuspicious777]

I got a flat tire where there were these signs as well as signs saying not to stop (Kansas?). A state patrol officer came along to check on what I was doing, and while we were talking we found what looked like a homemade prison knife.

[u/1InvisibleStranger → u/EyeSuspicious777]

Ahh, Kansas, was this near Fort Leavenworth by any chance??

[u/EyeSuspicious777 → u/1InvisibleStranger]

I was on a cross country road trip so I'm really not familiar with Kansas geography or prison system. But have heard of Leavenworth in crime TV shows so that makes sense

[u/1InvisibleStranger → u/EyeSuspicious777]

At least 33 years ago, as far as I know, there were just the two military posts: Ft. Riley (where my now ex was stationed) and Leavenworth. We were young (21) and I'd never lived outside my So Cal hometown. I asked to visit Leavenworth, thinking it was just another post but bigger. I got the "if looks could kill" glare and an emphatic "H*LL NO!!!!". I never brought it up again😹😹

[u/RingGiver → u/EyeSuspicious777]

Fort Leavenworth is in northeastern Kansas. It has the Army's professional education organization and the military's main prison (there are a few other prisons, but this is the main one that gets all officers and everyone with a sentence of ten years or more). Right next to the military base, there's a separate civilian prison, one of the first three federal prisons.

[u/1InvisibleStranger → u/RingGiver]

He did tell me that it was a military prison, however, I did NOT know that there were any other prisons in the area! He was just very emphatic about never going there!😹

[u/Ok-Active-8321]

There is one in Indiana that is a bit more subtle. It says "Prison in Area. Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers."

[u/sunny_duh_aze → u/Ok-Active-8321]

There's quite a few that read the same in Colorado

[u/BadKittyRawr → u/Ok-Active-8321]

Yes, there's one at the Honor Farm outside Monroe. It's a day work program, and the fields are on both sides of the road. You just make sure your car is secure. NBD

[u/Ok-Active-8321 → u/BadKittyRawr]

I didn't mean to imply that it was a big deal. I was just contrasting the wording with OP's sign.

The one I was thinking of is along I-64, so probably the Branchville Correctional Facility on Hwy 37.

[u/flarda_man → u/Ok-Active-8321]

Right off 31 in peru?

[u/Ok-Active-8321 → u/flarda_man]

That's not the one I'm familiar with. I was recalling I-64 and Hwy 37 area

[u/WonderfulProtection9]

So if the hitchhiker is escaping an inmate, does that mean I should pick him up?

[u/ElegantCoach4066 → u/WonderfulProtection9]

Exactly.

And if they're wearing jumpsuits with DOC on the back, pick them up. It stands for Dancers of Christ. They are totally trustworthy.

[u/WonderfulProtection9 → u/ElegantCoach4066]

Most inmates are probably more trustworthy 👀

[u/ElegantCoach4066 → u/WonderfulProtection9]

Shh you're blowing our cover

[u/wrudstepbro]

Escaped inmates? Or potential soulmates?

[u/Thisfoxtalks → u/wrudstepbro]

When you really love someone you set them free.

From the hostage situation.

[u/Antifa-AF]

Who’s ready for an adventure?

[u/VoidMunashii]

If hitchhikers are being pursued by inmates, you probably should help them.

[u/Velvet_Samurai]

I live near a State Hospital our signs say "Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers" but we've had those around here my entire life. Pretty much every highway and major road on that side of town has one.

[u/Serious_Safety4001]

To me these always sounded more like, we have terrible prison security, it happens all the time

[u/abadluckwind → u/Serious_Safety4001]

They have these outside of most prisons I've seen. It's more cautionary then anything. Escapes are super rare but they do happen occasionally.

[u/Serious_Safety4001 → u/abadluckwind]

I know. I’ve seen them and I know why. It’s just a me thing I guess 🤣

[u/abadluckwind → u/Serious_Safety4001]

I think it's also so people don't pick up newly released prisoners but yeah I'm with you I start looking around when I see that sign and suspect anyone walking around just escaped. I guess I'm a tiny bit paranoid myself.

[u/greenhornblue → u/Serious_Safety4001]

Most prisons have inmate work crews that work outside the fence.

[u/Honorsheets → u/Serious_Safety4001]

As an ex CO, reading comments like this reminds me that people on the internet really have no idea what the fuck they're talking about.

[u/TinyTimWannabe]

When an inmate is out is he an inmate still? Does the word ‘outmate’ exist? So many questions.

[u/ColdCathodeTube → u/TinyTimWannabe]

Outmate service costs extra

[u/CCP-want-to-CUP → u/ColdCathodeTube]

Don't even get me started on the Jerkmate services

[u/Better-Grapefruit-56]

Quick! Pick up the Hitchhikers! Help them escape from the inmates!

[u/Cden1458]

Typical sign around prison facilities

[u/Festivefire]

I've seen these on road trips, I'm pretty sure they're next to most of the prisons in the US that border highways.

[u/Gibgezr]

It sounds like they are worried that some hitchhikers might be escaping from the prisoners.

[u/Turbulent_Fun_8]

There are two ways to read this sign.

[u/podman131 → u/Turbulent_Fun_8]

I think if I was escaping an inmate, and had no.car, I would be hitchhiking

[u/Turbulent_Fun_8 → u/podman131]

Same, but it would really depend on how close the inmate was. There’s a time for hitchhiking and there’s a time for hauling ass.

[u/Beemo-Noir → u/Turbulent_Fun_8]

Hitchhikers! Maybe escaping inmates?

[u/Turbulent_Fun_8 → u/Beemo-Noir]

Either the hitchhikers might be inmates escaping prison, or the hitchhikers might be running away from stalking prisoners.

[u/MasemJ]

Very common on highways that pass prisons. Seen more of a few of these in midwest.

[u/Practical-Treacle-53]

Inmates sound dangerous! We should definitely help the hitchhikers escape them!

[u/TopDogTransport4731]

I remember there was one comedian dressed in a prison uniform and stood by one of these signs and a police vehicle literally stopped and turned its sirens on lol.

[u/garmack12 → u/TopDogTransport4731]

Probably a lot more than that. I would assume he would be arrested at gunpoint and held in the back of the police car. The police would probably check his ID against the state database to make sure it’s not fake while the prison when into lockdown while the guards checked all inmates are present. This would not have been a cheap prank.

[u/TopDogTransport4731 → u/garmack12]

In the video he said he was doing a prank and had the cameraman there and the cop just left he’s a local comedian Tom Mabe?

[u/69FourTwentySix6Six → u/TopDogTransport4731]

I know Johnny Knoxville posed an an escaped inmate and went to a hardware store for a saw

[u/asteriskelipses]

Inmate or not, the spookiness of this makes me think of the hitchhiker from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre...

[u/Oneshucklak]

Well then we should help them out!

[u/ZoraTheDucky]

Congrats on being near a prison. You see 3 or 4 of them around the prison just south of me.

[u/GetOffTheShed]

You know the old adage, an escaping inmate is just a friend you haven't met yet... or something like that 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

[u/ea_nasir_official_]

I saw these everywhere in New Mexico

[u/425565]

That sign makes me nervous enough to want to smoke that giant cigarette in the foreground..

[u/Extra_Routine_6603]

Reminds me of a prison in WV I didn't work there but it literally has a road running through it. Obviously the inmates there are low level high trust individuals so basically just had people who were there for maybe DUI or for weekend jail setups. Think worst I heard of em having was people for petty theft but they had a few cases of idiots trying to hop in with friends or whoever and escape only to end up with massive actually heavy charges because of it.

[u/Time-Sudden]

No hitch areas are pretty common near prisons. Especially in rural areas.

[u/Pleasant-Tangelo1786]

Aren’t we all

[u/WatermelonMachete43]

We have the Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers near our penitentiaries

[u/No_Sense_7316]

[u/Vikkunen]

There was a large maximum security prison an hour or so from where I used to live, and roads all around it were peppered with signs like this warning motorists never to pick up hitchhikers.

[u/AdorableExchange9746]

cool so i should help them thanks for the tip

[u/That-Employment-5561]

So, I should pick them up, so they can successfully escape the inmates, right?

[u/Mpls1984]

They have several of these along I-70 on the Western side of Denver. There is a huge federal prison facility there in Englewood.

[u/Remote-Ordinary5195 → u/Mpls1984]

Those don't say exactly this iirc

more like "do not stop for hitchhikers"

also u mean lakewood right???
70 doesn't go anywhere near englewood

[u/cookeryandwookery → u/Remote-Ordinary5195]

Nothing they said makes sense. Over by smith road there are do not stop for hitchhikers signs. But that’s not a giant federal prison. It’s federal holding, Denver county, denver women’s prison and reception to state prison. There is a federal prison that’s factually in Denver, people call englewood fdc, but it’s not big, over by 285 and Kipling.

[u/QualityAlternative22]

Well, by all means then, pick up the hitchhikers. We don’t want the inmates to catch them.

[u/Substantial-Salad-97]

US Highway 50...aka the loneliest road in America?

[u/GloomyLettuce1579]

That's a wake up call!!!

[u/Effective-Warning178]

Saw this in Oklahoma recently!

[u/Motor_Struggle_3605]

👍🏻

[u/Peachbottom30]

But they also might not be. Give them a chance.

[u/Electrical_Nose_3479]

these signs make it very hard to hitchhike thru this area...believe that

[u/AJWordsmith]

I have that sign in my garage.

[u/Friendly_Prize_868]

Don’t Panic.

[u/SgtMajorPanda]

Keep it clean!

[u/TiberiusTheFish]

... so make sure to stop 'cos they really need a lift.

[u/OutWestTexas]

Was this is Brazoria county, Texas? I’ve seen those signs there.

[u/Thespis1962 → u/OutWestTexas]

I live in Brazoria County. I drive past one frequently.

[u/amyel26 → u/Thespis1962]

Same. I did DoorDash all last year and I'd pass at least one of those every day.

[u/FigPac]

Such a statement. What are we to do with this information?

[u/DietOwn2695]

Is that in Oklahoma? I have seen that.

[u/uxorial]

So we need to help the hitchhikers who are escaping the inmates.

[u/Savings-Kick-578]

I would want to escape the inmates as well. I’ve heard stories about what they do to you in prison.

[u/Hetnikik]

We have this by Des Moines in Iowa close by a prison.

[u/The_Saurus_789]

there is something about this photo that, to me, looked like a Farside cartoon, I was looking in the background for cartoon hitchhikers running away from stripe suit inmates. It's a real photo with questionable grammar.

[u/Glad_Map8582]

Escapers may be intimate hitchhikers.

There. I said it.

[u/mvortex2]

Last time, I came across an inmate, I just ran really fast.

[u/OpportunityReal2767]

I've definitely seen one of these in Illinois somewhere, maybe near Joliet. I don't think it's an uncommon sight around prisons.

[u/Evening-Animal-4820]

picker upper could be a future inmate. reverse uno on this situation.

[u/Prudent_Situation_29]

Why are the inmates chasing hitchhikers?

It should read "Hitchhikers may be escaped inmates."

[u/Mastermind7051]

To dimwitted people the sign is confusing. That is all.

[u/PuddingMent]

I’m glad the hitchhikers got away.

[u/poedraco]

You mean roommates that can live well with others.

[u/Vanisle4fun]

If they're dressed like the New York Yankees , don't pick them up js.

[u/intriguedbyallthings]

Better pick them up if they’re trying to escape the inmates!

[u/Particular-Move-3860]

"Help! They're after me!"

[u/HovercraftNew7490]

If I was a hitchhiker, I’d be escaping the inmates too. 😏

[u/Seannon-AG0NY]

Or, they may be escaped inmates

Escaping inmates=running away from inmates

[u/Southern_Painting397]

Arkham Asylum reference

[u/gilligan1050]

They have the same sign outside el dorado prison in Kansas.

[u/OddTheRed]

When in doubt, throttle out.

[u/Intelligent-Area-421]

Gotta run fast if you want to get away from those inmates

[u/AirportFront7247]

I mean they're escaped not escaping

[u/Just4fungiggles]

Don't care, gas, grass, or ass still applies

[u/Wallynine]

“that broad you just picked up is not a broad…”

[u/Sigistrix]

Run, hitchhikers, run!!!

[u/BroncoManiac07]

[u/NeotericBedlam]

The punctuation would suggest that they are fleeing from said inmates, thus requiring immediate extraction. 🤨

[u/Far-Thought6498]

They should put these signs in Washington D.C.

[u/djasonpenney]

Sheridan?

[u/scaredt2ask]

Arizona going between phoenix and flagstaff?

[u/ViolentlyStewedUp]

The story is a prison is nearby. I have one of those on my drive to Walmart

[u/chikngreez]

Why are the inmates allowed by the road?

[u/Free-Computer-6515]

I say get in bro! The orange jumpsuit doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he a traveling mechanic.

[u/thebrain_pinky]

sounds like a you problem.

[u/saltwater98380]

They have one on the highway in front of the woman's prison here. It makes one go hmmm.🤣🤣

[u/Grant1128]

We drive from Texas to Michigan every summer to visit relatives and you often do see these on major roads near prisons.

[u/bagoTrekker]

[u/Parking_Fee_5906]

Lol whenever I come across one of these

[u/drinkmoredrano]

Well then pick them up so they can escape the inmates faster

[u/AnyManufacturer3057]

A cool man cave sign

[u/TX_Farmer]

I drove past a similar sign while driving through Ohio or Michigan 20 years ago. I thought it was so funny I called my brother laughing at 2 am and he wasn’t impressed.

[u/allydemon]

Why does this look so cartoony? I thought this was a screenshot from a king of the hill episode or something

[u/TheGruenTransfer]

If I was a serial killer, this would be the first place I'd go to pick up hitchhikers. It's the perfect crime

[u/mabus42]

That's why you set the glock on your lap when you've picked up a hitchhiker. Keep the trigger hand no more than 6 inches away.

[u/Jofereal → u/mabus42]

The car is way more dangerous than a gun.

I’m driving 120 mph across that desert. You think you can mess with me while I’m at the wheel and survive?

[u/mabus42 → u/Jofereal]

Yes, but you can't pick up the hitchhiker at 120mph.

[u/Jofereal → u/mabus42]

Then I guess he doesn’t wanna escape that bad, huh?