Why is it against the law to drive without footwear?

Just curious about this. I was driving the kids to McDonalds and it hit me…why do we have to wear shoes when we drive?

It’s fine to drive barefoot. In spite of persistent myths, there are NO laws against driving barefoot. Unfortunately, this myth is so common that even some cops believe it… but everyone who believes this please see source and stop spreading this falsity.

Some cops are convinced it’s unsafe and even though they know it’s not illegal may try to write you up for unsafe or reckless driving, however please see the second and third link in the source, for two sites (one from the Michigan PD, one from an Australian newspaper) making it clear that driving barefoot is no more unsafe than many types of footwear that are regularly worn and could even be considered safer than many kinds of shoes. And several US friends have told me their driving instructors advised them to take off high heels or loose footwear when driving, instructors definitely aren’t all anti-barefoot driving!

I agree with the one previous poster who said a lot depends on what you’re used to. As a full-time barefooter my feet are strong and the soles are thick enough that a pebble wouldn’t faze me no matter how hard I had to step down on it. I’ve not had any kind of footwear on my feet for eleven years, it’d be like driving with boxing gloves. But if you always wear sturdy footwear then even a tiny pebble or irregularity might make you pull back (I have one friend who can’t walk comfortably barefoot on smooth tile) and your foot as a whole won’t be as strong without the support it’s used to either.

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