Corrected entry: At the beginning of the movie when Jim and John are talking, if you watch both of them closely, John is looking at Jim then in the following shot he's looking at the road, and vice versa, its really easy to spot this. (00:07:35)
Corrected entry: Up until the point Jim is let in to the diner by the girl to make a call and freshen-up, he is wearing blue Nike trainers with a white tick. When he runs out of the diner a few minutes later, he is wearing all white Nike trainers.
Correction: This already appears on the corrections page. He changed clothes at the gas station. He was traveling cross country, and had an extra pair of shoes.
Corrected entry: At the beginning of the film when Jim is about to pick up Ryder, Ryder jogs over to Jim's car in the rain and knocks on the window two times. But mid film, when Jim is in a jail cell dreaming and reliving that moment, Ryder knocks on the window THREE times.
Correction: Dreams are not valid continuity errors.
Corrected entry: When they reach the roadblock, the worker mentions that he has Illinois plates, however later on Texas plates are visible.
Correction: Yes, but on the black pickup. The car always wears Illinois plates 'SQX 346'. No error here.
Corrected entry: The 'red door not shut' light on the dash is initially shown to come on when the Hitcher gets back in the car and doesn't shut the door properly, but in another view from in between the driver and passenger a few minutes later the light is not on, then the light is on again just before he notices it and pushes him out of the car.
Correction: The switch that controls the light is in the door jamb and often comes loose, or simply malfunctions, operating intermittently. Its certainly possible for this situation to be true-to-life. Not really an error.
Corrected entry: After C. Thomas Howell discovers a severed finger in his fries at the diner, he charges outside to be arrested by the cops. The cops grab him, pull his arms behind his back and throw him, chest first, onto the hood of his car. When they do this, his leg comes up so far behind the cops that it kicks one of the officers in the back of the head.
Correction: Jim accidentally kicking an officer does not qualify as a valid film mistake.
Corrected entry: After Hauer runs over the gas pumps and gas is now everywhere on the ground, Hauer lights a match off the side-view mirror of the truck. It's not possible to strike a match on a smooth mirror.
Correction: Actually, it would be possible to light the match on the mirror, if you do it on the edge of the chrome plate. Just like you can light one with your fingernail, or (if you have no brains) on the back of your front tooth.
Corrected entry: In the begining of the film C.Thomas Howell is wearing a pair of trainers. These trainers change colour half way through the film.
Correction: He changes his clothes at the truck stop where he meets Nash.
Corrected entry: In the scene where C. Thomas Howell goes into a barn, which is nearly empty, he is startled by pigeons flying up in the air. You can see two hands throw a bird into the air from behind a large wooden box.
Correction: There are various shadows but no hands visible.
Corrected entry: In the scene outside the diner where C Thomas Howell finds the finger in his food - The officers find a knife in his jacket, pick him up and throw him back down onto the car. He is thrown down so hard by the police officers that his foot arcs up over his back and kicks the officer (on the right) in the back of the head. The officer is a good actor, and doesn't even blink after getting kicked. (00:31:35)
Correction: This is not a mistake. The kick is not intentional, so it is not very hard. The cop is simply not bothered by it, as it is a small nuisance that he is prepared might happen in a difficult arrest situation.
Correction: This is not unusual. People in a moving vehicle alternate between looking at each other, and watching the road all the time.