Is It Safe To Drive Without Shoes?

There has been a lot of debate concerning the safety of driving without shoes; unsurprisingly, some believe it’s against the law. In any discussion about driving barefoot in person or on the internet, you’ll most certainly hear at least one person say, "It’s illegal to do that in my state." While this is one of the most widespread driving myths, it is undoubtedly the easiest to debunk.

One of the most pervasive misconceptions about driving barefoot is that drivers who do so are likely to be involved in collisions because their feet might slip from the pedal, which couldn’t be farther away from the truth. You can easily find many references and articles that attest to the legality and safety of driving barefoot. If you’re still not convinced, feel free to search the internet to find out the different vehicle codes of each state.

Pros Of Driving Without Shoes

The following are some of the advantages of driving without shoes:

1. It’s More Comfortable

Driving with your bare feet offers a much better feel of the vehicle and the pedals. It feels more natural compared to driving with footwear. It offers a great deal of flexibility and makes it possible to move your feet freely.

2. You Won’t Get Exhausted Easily And The Feet Won’t Get Swollen

When driving without shoes, your feet won’t get sweaty, swollen, or tired during long drives, unlike when you wear closed-in shoes. If you manage to keep your feet dry before driving, they should be able to stay that way all through the drive while maintaining a secure grip on your vehicle’s pedal.

3. Better Pedal Control

Stepping on the pedal with your bare feet isn’t just comfortable; it’s also convenient and allows better pedal grip, as anyone who’s driven barefoot can attest to.

Cons Of Driving Without Wearing Shoes

Below are the downsides of driving with your bare feet:

1. The Feet May Become Slippery Due To Precipitation

Although it’s improbable, there’s a chance of the feet becoming moist due to sweat. This, of course, is if the barefoot person sweats easily, as it may lessen their foot’s grip on the gas pedal and can cause your foot to slip off.

2. More Pressure Is Required When Stepping On The Pedal

Another thing to note when driving barefoot is that you may need to apply more pressure to the pedal to achieve your desired acceleration. Also, it’s essential to be gentle when stepping on the brake pedals for safety reasons. Aside from the safety risk, it can also be painful to your feet, and you might experience occasional spasms, which could influence your ability to control your car.

Inversely, if you wear shoes when driving, you’ll find that the pressure on the accelerator and brake are evenly distributed without you needing to make an effort. This means you only need to focus on the level of stress you exert when accelerating.

Pros Of Driving With Shoes

Driving with the right shoes allows increased stability and grip on the pedals. Here are some other significant benefits of driving with shoes.

1. Comfort

Wearing shoes that are lightweight and have good traction is both convenient and comfortable at the same time. If you’re lucky enough to find a comfortable and solid pair, they can protect your feet from broken glass when you step out of your vehicle and still feel like you aren’t even wearing shoes at all.

Therefore, investing in some good shoes or sneakers for driving is a good idea if you don’t feel comfortable driving barefoot. Nothing beats the feeling of comfort on the road, especially during long drives.

2. Stylish Appearance

Besides being comfortable, there are many driving shoes with great designs if you don’t like the idea of exposing your feet. This is a significant advantage of driving with shoes since you won’t have to put on your shoes hurriedly in case of emergencies where you have to leave your car.

3. Convenience

There are driving shoes that are super comfy on the feet, and most of them are designed with a slip-on fit, which means you can easily slip them on and off whenever you feel like it. Driving shoes happen to be highly convenient to wear since most of these pairs feature a slip-on fit. Even if you are not driving, you can wear these shoes when you feel that you would need to remove them a few times during the day.

Cons of Driving With Shoes

Here are the two major drawbacks of driving with shoes and other footwear

1. Swollen Feet and Ankles

Driving with constricted closed-toed shoes or even regular shoes can lead to tired and swollen feet during long trips, especially if you happen to be driving a manual transmission vehicle.

2. Blisters And Sore Feet

You’ll probably get sore feet or blisters with close-toed shoes after a while on the road, which is the exact opposite of driving barefoot. However, it all boils down to investing in perfectly fit shoes.

Is It Legal To Drive With Bare Feet?

A widespread myth that has refused to go away is that driving around barefoot is illegal. This is anything but true since it’s legal to drive without shoes in the United States. Also, no law prohibits driving with heels or slippers even though most people believe them to be unsuited for driving.

If you have to choose between slippers, platform shoes, or bare feet, the most comfortable and safest option is driving with your bare feet. However, the fact remains that there are still some possible risks associated with this form of driving. For instance, someone not used to driving without shoes might find it difficult, even uncomfortable, to operate the pedals properly and exert the right amount of pressure.

On the plus side, driving barefoot dramatically minimizes the possibility of stalling if you drive with a manual transmission, and it isn’t particularly difficult for most people to adjust to. That’s because it’s easy to get the hang of it after a few tries if you consider driving with shoes too much of a hassle.

Are There Any Laws Against Driving Barefoot In The United States?

Like most other countries, the United States doesn’t have any legislation stipulating what type of shoe drivers are allowed to wear. The only safety regulation that addresses what drivers wear is the one that requires that they wear footwear and clothing that won’t affect their ability to control their vehicles properly.

Since the law doesn’t advise against driving barefooted, there’s no reason why you can’t do so if you want to unless you’re worried it might be unsafe for you, which is entirely unfounded. In the same way, it’s legal to drive barefoot; drivers are also allowed to wear slippers and other footwear, although not all types of shoes are appropriate for driving.

Why People Think It’s Illegal To Drive Barefoot

As some people would like you to believe, driving without shoes isn’t illegal in any part of New Mexico, South Dakota, New Hampshire, or any particular state. It became an urban legend mainly because most people wear shoes while driving and simply because that’s how it has always been.

While some believe it’s unsafe to drive in shoes for various reasons, facts state otherwise and prove that driving barefoot indeed offers a lot more control and better grip on the pedals. Now that we’ve clarified the legality of driving barefoot, you must still drive safely.

You should note that during the unfortunate event of an accident, the appropriate agency investigates the accident to determine whether it was due to distracted driving or careless driving. If, however, it was due to the driver not wearing shoes, only then will there be additional penalties.

Generally, police officers won’t be able to charge you or anyone for driving barefooted, they can only try to discourage people from it, and that is just about it.

Choosing The Right Driving Shoe

We all know that there’s a long list of things drivers aren’t supposed to do while driving. However, after considering the dangers of driving under the influence, applying makeup, singing along to loud music, texting, or making phone calls, most drivers aren’t aware of the role of their feet and how they can influence how they operate their cars.

As much as this aspect of driving is overlooked, it can, in fact, help minimize the number of road crashes recorded annually. This is why it’s very important to pick the right shoes whenever you’re going for a drive. Since most shoes aren’t created equal, we’ll help you select the most appropriate choices by listing some of the options to avoid.

Driving In Flip Flops

Driving with sandals, flops, and anything of the sort is generally a bad idea since it’s very likely that the straps will get caught in the brake pedal, which could be fatal. Another reason flops aren’t suitable for driving is because they tend to easily slip off or get stuck under the pedals. When such a thing happens, in most cases, the driver’s attention is directed away from the road and focused on the flip flop.

Although flops aren’t formally considered unsafe for driving, due to the danger they pose on the road, it’s best to leave a pair of driving shoes in your car if you have to urgently be somewhere. If your shoes have smooth soles or don’t have enough traction to grip the pedals, it’s best to take off your flops and drive barefooted.

What Are The Possible Risks Of Driving With Flip Flops

Unfortunately, flip-flops aren’t designed with adequate ankle support, often slipping off when trying to step on the acceleration or brake pedal. Below are some other reasons why flip-flops are not suitable for driving and why you should consider driving your motor vehicle barefoot or wearing other shoes.

• They can slip between the pedal and the floor of the car, which can be a huge distraction when driving.
• When flip-flops get caught between the floor and the pedal, it reduces the driver’s control of the vehicle.
• Using your motor vehicle’s brakes effectively can be challenging when wearing flip-flops.
• Flip flops require a little extra effort when releasing the clutch and accelerating and not the same braking force required when wearing shoes.

Driving In High Heels

Surprisingly there are no local regulations or general traffic laws in the United States prohibiting people from driving in high heels, not even motorcycle drivers. However, we strongly advise against doing so due to the risks involved.

Why Driving In Platform Shoes and Wedge Heels Is Not Such A Good Idea

High heels aren’t designed for driving like flops, open-toed shoes, and sandals. Therefore, it’s a bad idea to attempt to do so as it increases the chances of a car accident. Some of the dangers of driving in platform shoes are as follows:

• The heel of your shoe can get caught in the carpet or brakes, distracting you and slowing your reaction time, exposing you to danger.
• Due to their elevation, platform shoes can distort your ability to measure the required amount of pressure to apply on the pedals, which can cause you to be booked for careless driving.
• Heels aren’t the most comfortable type of footwear, which is basically another reason why they aren’t suitable for driving.

Why It’s Better To Drive Barefoot Than To Wear The Wrong Kind Of Shoe

When driving, of course, you want to be able to estimate the right amount of pressure you need to put on the pedals to ensure you don’t go past or below your desired acceleration. Applying the right amount of pressure is critical for your safety and the safety of the drivers around you and their passengers.

Most people aren’t of the fact that their kind of footwear can affect their feel of the pedal, which is essential for applying the right pressure. Some specific shoes aren’t recommended for driving due to their width and rigidness. Such shoes will not only take away a driver’s ability to feel the pedal but can, in fact, constrict a driver’s foot movement. Some examples are wedges, platform shoes, and chunky ankle boots. These kinds of shoes are a major health and safety hazard since it’s crucial to be able to bend and flex the feet while driving because it allows better control over the accelerator and brakes.

Another problem with driving with unsuitable shoes is that they lack traction, which is extremely important for gripping the pedals. It’s inadvisable to drive with shoes with long laces that also have smooth soles because there’s a high risk of the shoe slipping off the pedal during a situation where quick action is required.

This will most likely happen if your shoes’ soles are wet. Driving with slippers isn’t appropriate since not only are they held together by a single piece of strap, but these kinds of footwear are also prone to slippage, which can happen at any moment when driving.

If your options are limited to any of the choices above, it’s best to forego the idea of driving with shoes and driving barefoot instead, as it is by far your safest option.

The Various State Opinions On Barefoot Driving

According to the Michigan vehicle code, it would be an exaggeration to call driving without shoes careless or reckless driving. The department of public safety has also hinted at how harmless it is to drive barefoot. This clearly shows that both departments realize that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking off your shoes before driving if you don’t have the proper footwear.

South Carolina, West Virginia, North Dakota, and the Minnesota state troops also support driving barefoot instead of taking the risk of wearing heels, slippers, and other uncomfortable shoes that can interfere with vehicle controls. If you reside in this state or are driving through, remember that you aren’t obligated to wear shoes unless you want to.

No driving law in the state of Ohio prohibits barefoot driving, although, in rare instances, traffic officials encourage drivers to wear shoes. In any case, it’s practically up to you to decide whether you want to or not.

When an accident is caused by someone found not wearing shoes, an investigation is usually carried out to determine if the cause of the crash was related to the driver being barefooted. If it was a contributing factor, then the person responsible will be cited for failure to exercise due care and may even face civil fines.

Final Words

Driving without shoes or footwear, for that matter, shouldn’t get you in trouble in the United States since there are no barefoot driving laws. Besides, it’s a lot safer than driving in heels, platform shoes, flip flops, and any other type of chunky and rigid footwear.

Driving without shoes allows secure and better pedal grip. Also, it allows free foot movement, not to mention the fact that it’s way more comfortable to go barefoot during long drives as the feet aren’t likely to get swollen or tired.