He knew he was being trapped, but he couldn’t see a way out. And he wanted to be a good guy. He glanced again at the restaurant. "Scrunch down on the running board till we get around the bend," he said.
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 2. After first refusing a lift because of the "No Riders" sicker on the truck, the driver decides to disobey the company rule not to pick up passengers. In agreeing to give Tom a ride, the driver finds common cause with Tom’s fiercely independent spirit, by offering two fingers to the establishment – his employer. He doesn’t wish to be seen as a company tool. Instead he decides at Tom’s prompting to take the side of the common people and show kindness to the hitchhiker at the risk of losing his job.