Other mistake: The Hitcher reverses his pick-up truck out of the gas station after he drops the lighted match. His wheels, wheel arches and perhaps the underside of the truck would have been soaked in petrol as he drove over the gushing pumps. So as he was burning rubber during this manoeuvre - this would have ignited the petrol on his truck.
The Hitcher (1986)
1 other mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Robert Harmon
Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jeffrey DeMunn
Continuity mistake: In one scene C. Thomas Howell almost runs head-on with an 18 wheeler, but just misses it. However, the truck clips the car he is driving and clearly takes the bumper clean off. The next driving scene shows the bumper back on the car.
Jim Halsey: Why are you doing this to me?
John Ryder: You're a smart kid... figure it out.
Question: In the shot where John Ryder is in the van and uses a metal like object to unlock the handcuffs. When Jim Halsey was to be talking to John in prison, they are holding hands. I was wondering if Jim could've put the metal object into John's hands, so that John could escape and Jim could kill him himself? As like a kind of getting back at thing for all that he had to go through.
Answer: What you see him playing with is a link on the chains around his waist - note chains, not handcuffs. We know he's a resourceful guy, and just before he escapes, we see the two guards playing cards, with the shotgun loosely on one's lap - based on what we know about the configuration of the truck, John would have easily been able to leap forward and grab the shotgun while we see Jim driving up to the truck. John then shoots the guards with the shotgun we now know he just grabbed.