Skitching is the dangerous act of holding onto a moving vehicle while wearing roller skates or riding a skateboard. It is more common in urban areas where traffic is slow and can speed up a skater’s journey, but it is illegal in many places. Other terms for skitching include “poggying,” “bumper shining,” and “bumper hitching.”
Skitching, which can be a portmanteau of the words “skating” and “hitchhiking,” is the act of holding on to a moving vehicle while wearing roller skates or riding a skateboard. The person dodging is not inside the motor vehicle and, instead of using their muscles to propel themselves forward, they “attack” a passage using the power of the motor vehicle’s engine to move it. Understandable, this is a very dangerous practice that can lead to serious physical injury to the person who is jumping. Also, if the motor vehicle driver is unaware and suddenly realizes that there is a person hanging from the side or back of their car, they can become distracted in a way that could lead to an accident, potentially injuring many people. including hitchhiker skating.
It is more common for skitching to occur in urban areas where traffic is heavy but relatively slow. This is because skitchers can sometimes latch onto buses, vans, and sometimes even cars without the driver noticing. Also, in these kinds of areas, there’s a great deal of starts and stops. This means that a motor vehicle cannot accelerate above 35 or 40 miles per hour (about 55-65 kilometers per hour). While the practice is still very dangerous, a skidding person is not likely to be towed at the much higher speeds that might be achieved on motorways, highways and open roads outside cities.
Also, one of the reasons skitching is used in urban areas is that it can speed up a skater’s journey from one place to another. A skitcher looking to get across town quickly might alternate between skating and skitching when possible. Besides being very dangerous, skitching is also illegal in many places.
There are a number of other terms that are used to describe the act of skitching. “Poggying” is a term. “Bumper Shining” and “Bumper Hitching” are also terms used to describe skitching. This is because skitchers can hang onto the rear bumper of a motor vehicle or just the rear end of the vehicle near the rear bumper. There are similar practices involving the use of a bicycle and, in some cases, an inner tube (which is used on snowy roads) which are similar to the practice of hitchhiking while skating.
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