Is Hitch Hiking Illegal?

I saw a hitch hiker this morning sitting with his back against the left turn signal post on the traffic island adjacent to a left turn lane. He was holding a destination sign and was in a perfect position to talk to drivers who were waiting for the signal to change. The duration of the signal was such that he had plenty of time to hop in if he was able to convince someone to give him a ride.
He had neatly circumvented the rule against being on the roadway to solicit a ride because the raised traffic island is not designed for or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic. I suspect that he was also attracting more attention as he was not standing on the right shoulder of the highway where most drivers would expect to see him. Do you think that he caught a ride quicker than hitch hiking using the "conventional" method?
This also brought to mind what are known as "Schedule 1 Highways" or what would be more commonly known as a freeway. Due to the risk of collision, both hitch hiking and stopping to pick up a hitch hiker is illegal here. In fact, it is illegal to be a pedestrian on this type of highway unless you are attending to a broken down vehicle or a sign permits pedestrians on the shoulder.
Is hitch hiking dangerous in other respects? I'll leave that for you to decide. Although I can tell you some horror stories from my past experience as a police officer, it is an economical method of travel if you meet the right people, but how can you really tell?
Reference Links