a long history and is still popular. It was legalised and formalised in 1957 so hitchhikers could buy booklets including coupons from travel agencies. These coupons were given to drivers who took hitchhikers. By the end of each season drivers who collected the highest number of coupons could exchange them for prizes, and others took part in a lottery. This so-called "Akcja Autostop" was popular till the end of the 1970s, but the sale of the booklet was discontinued in 1995. Ireland Hitchhiking in Ireland is legal, unless it takes place on motorways. A backpacker will most likely still get a lift if the car has enough space to park. Local police (Gardaí) usually let backpackers get away with a verbal warning. United States Hitchhiking became a common method of traveling during the Great Depression and during the Counterculture of the 1960s. Warnings of the potential dangers of picking up hitchhikers were publicized to drivers, who were advised that some hitchhikers would rob drivers and, in some cases, sexually assault or murder them. Other warnings were publicized to the hitchhikers themselves, alerting them to the same types of crimes being carried out by drivers. Still, hitchhiking was part of the American psyche and many people continued to stick out their thumbs, even in states where the practice had been outlawed. Today, hitchhiking is legal in 44 of the 50 states, provided that the hitchhiker is not standing in the roadway or otherwise hindering the normal flow of traffic. Even in states where hitchhiking is illegal, hitchhikers are rarely ticketed. For example, the Wyoming Highway Patrol approached 524 hitchhikers in 2010, but only eight of them were cited (hitchhiking was subsequently legalized in Wyoming in 2013). Hitchhiking is still in regular practice, but hitchhikers must accept the risks. In several urban areas, a variation of hitchhiking called slugging occurs, motivated by HOV lanes. Notable hitchhikers Notable individual hitchhikers include: Douglas Adams; author whose fictional space-travel book, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was inspired whilst hitching in Innsbruck, Austria. Joe Bennett – New Zealand newspaper columnist and author; hitchhiked around the world for 10 years. André Brugiroux – from France; hitchhiked all around the world for 18 years, from 1955 to 1973. Simon Calder – author, broadcaster, journalist and travel correspondent. Has a regular column with The Independent which often features pieces about hitchhiking. Has published some 'classic' guidebook material on thumbing