Picking up hitchhikers

Is it a good idea to pick up hitchhikers or not?  I usually side with not picking up hitchhikers because first of all it is illegal, and second who knows what situation you could find yourself in. All that said, I want to share with you how impactful picking up hitchhikers can be.

It was in the years following the Great Depression and a widow with four children told the youngest, a boy, that he would have to make it on his own.  He was 12 I think.  That boy felt rejected and decided to go to California.  Why?  Beats me.  I am not sure if he even knows.  He got picked up by a truck driver, and the boy told the truck driver he was going to California.  The truck driver asked the boy about his family and learned that he had an older sister in Ohio.  So the truck driver drove the boy to Ohio instead of California.  The boy went to his sister's and his sister took him in.  

Later the boy thought about that truck driver, and thought that he was his guardian angel.

If that man had not picked up my grandfather and taken him to his sister, much would be different in my world.

My grandfather tells that story a lot these days, and he realizes that God can work amazing things though people who pick up hitchhikers.

Mind you, the hitchhiker was 12.

On the other side of the coin, I would say it is often a very bad idea to pick up hitchhikers, especially of the opposite sex if you are alone, or anyone if you are alone.  

What are your thoughts on picking up hitchhikers?