“hitching doesn’t. ”
It can, and has.
“When was the last time a bochur hitching in lakewood had got hurt or kidnapped?”
Typical, looking at it from the side of the hitcher, only. There is another component, cars on the road.
Unless all involved are made aware of the potential danger to themselves and everyone else who shares the road with them, hitching is a stupid thing to do. If the yeshivos insist the bachurim get out at 10:30 at night, and parents agree to send their kids to such a yeshiva, by all means figure out how to get them home.
Walking at night, on a dark road, wearing dark clothing, it stupid. Standing at or near the passing traffic looking for a hitch, is even dumber. You can get hit. Drivers might not see you until it is too late. They may have to swerve, or stop short and endanger other pedestrians or cars. The driver may stop suddenly to pick someone up. May not pull completely off the road, and pose a danger to those who might get into the car on the street side, or to other passing drivers who may not see the open door or those passengers.
I witnessed many near misses many times over the past summer on route 42 in Fallsburg. All scenarios mentioned above, I saw myself, more than once, in fact several dozen times. Until all involved understand the inherent dangers of hitching, I wouldnt advocate it. It is not a question of IF, it is a matter of WHEN someone gets seriously hurt.