Have you ever hitchhiked?

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From time to time, we see teenagers here standing by the side of the road, sticking out their thumbs and hitchhiking. But I’ve always wondered: Do people actually let them in? I don’t think hitchhiking is very common in the Philippines, but I’ve seen it so many times in movies, especially American ones, that I know it’s definitely a thing in the US. Or is it? Yesterday, my husband was driving home when he saw a young man and woman walking under the scorching sun with a baby. The man was carrying a huge backpack, while the woman was carrying the baby and sticking out her thumb, trying to hitch a ride. My husband drove past them at first, but then decided to turn around. Maybe his conscience got the better of him. He asked where they were headed, and the young couple said Gensan, which is three to fours hours from my city. My husband told them he could only take them as far as a bus stop near our house because he couldn’t drive them all the way to Gensan. By the time they got into the car, both of them were panting from exhaustion, while the baby had finally stopped crying. It turns out the guy had lost his job, so they were heading back to their province. That explained the huge backpack - it was basically carrying their entire city life with them. Have you ever hitchhiked? And would you pick up a hitchhiker?