Human feet always sort of confused me. You’d think that, evolutionarily, we’d have adapted to have feet with bony plates or something on their soles, instead of the relatively tender skin we do have. Bare feet seem too delicate for the sort of demands we make of them! Plus, mine always seem to be cold. I suppose that the relative tenderness of human foot soles drove us to develop shoes, and from there more advanced leatherwork and lacing and pumps and innersoles and all that, and from there it’s a short leap to Crocs, then canoes and cars and spacecraft. So, with images of bare feet now in your mind, I’d like to ask you: How do you feel about driving with bare feet?
Interestingly, lots of people seem to think that driving barefoot is illegal. It’s not. There are no laws in any state in America that says driving barefoot is illegal. That doesn’t mean it’s always a great idea, but I generally find the reasons given why barefoot driving is dangerous to be pretty lame; they tend to note that your feet could slip off the pedals, or the pedals may be hot, or that the amount of braking pressure needed will be greater for bare feet.
The problem with all these reasons is that they all seem to be pretty easy to debunk, or at least mitigate. I think there are some shoes that are as likely to slip off a pedal, I’ve yet to encounter blazing hot pedals (they’re always in the shade!), and I think the braking pressure is the same, it’s just perhaps more focused on the ball of your foot instead of being distributed over the whole sole.
I think there are some kinds of shoes – big wooden clogs or stiff leather dress shoes with slippery soles, or flip-flops, for example – that are actually worse for control in a car than bare feet. I don’t drive barefoot often, but I have, sometimes, on summer days where my shoes were soaking wet or something, and there’s an undeniable pleasant sensation about it, I think.
I like the feel of the textures of the rubber pedal cover on my foot, and I think you can get a lot more sensitive in your throttle control barefoot. Sometimes barefoot driving can give you a stronger connection with the car, as you can feel the engine vibrations through the clutch, for example, or tell if your brake rotors are worn on the brake. I’m sure in a wreck it could be worse, and the potential for injury or toe-stubbings is greater, but I don’t know if I buy the idea that barefoot driving actually impairs anything.
What do you think? Is barefoot driving just something for foot fetishists like Quentin Tarantino or is it just something we can all enjoy, happily and safely? Or is it a dangerous, disgusting perversion? You should all discuss and argue about it in the comments, right?
I’ve been driving barefoot regularly for (yikes) 47 years and I like it. Just need to keep some flops or slip-ons handy for going into stores, rest stops and whatnot.
If I’m wearing sandals, I’ll often take them off and drive barefoot. Feels like I have more control.
The only place I did “driving” barefoot was my sim rig. I felt like I had more grip than with my shoes.
If I remember right, a lot of my first stickshift lessons, in my 1972 Super Beetle, were conducted barefoot. I felt that it gave me more of a connection to the car, which likely helped me pick up the skill more quickly. I still drive barefoot from time to time, and generally like it. And, at least in the case of the Beetle, it does give you a better sense of how the car is running and performing. But I really only do it when I’m running to a drive thru or something that doesn’t involve leaving the car, and don’t feel like putting on actual shoes.
I have matching driving shoes for my driving gloves which I put on for every drive.
As one does.
Do you ever mistakenly put the gloves on your feet and the shoes on your hands?
Fun fact: the German word for gloves is ‘Handschuhe’ – hand shoes
Practical linguists, those Germans.
I don’t do it much because I don’t tend to have a need to be barefoot while driving, but I have driven barefoot a couple of times after paddleboarding when my feet were all sandy and the idea of putting shoes back on made me cringe. I think I have better pedal feel than when I’m wearing my big winter boots (which I do much more often).
The worst I’ve driven in (not counting flip flops because I’ve never done that and likely never will because it seems like a terrible idea) is actually trail running shoes though. The big knobs on the soles tend to get stuck on the edge of the pedals and it can be awkward to activate the pedals smoothly. I make a point of not wearing them if I’m driving manual because clutching in knobby shoes in a PITA.
Barefoot driving I can live with, bare feet on the dash or out the window? Can’t stand that, in my car or others.
-Certified “get off my lawn” content
Feet on the dash or out the window in an accident will just wreck someone.
As a teenager I sat with my foot on the dash. One day my brother was driving and rear ended the car in front of us. LUCKILY, the car was too old for airbags and my foot did not go through the windshield. But I twisted my ankle pretty badly and the car needed a new windshield.
I still sit all scrunched up like a kid a lot of the time (no idea why), but I learned my lesson about feet on the dash.
I prefer barefoot for all things when it’s nice out. I will admit that driving barefoot feels different and I think it does feel like you have to push harder on the pedals. But, you actually don’t it’s just the sensation. Once you get used to that it’s fine.
Only caveat, really stiff clutch pedals. That will get old real fast.
Most of my shoes are terrible for driving, so a lot of the time I just put them to the side – I’m a big fan and have never encountered any issues. I probably have socks on the majority of the time, but it’s been no inhibitor. Typically I’ll have on leather soled loafer and slippers, and working a stick shift with those is just bad all around (the sharp heel cuts through the carpet, the more stiff leather or velvet wrinkles bad when you put it through those motions)
I like driving barefoot. It actually motivates me to keep clean rugs on the car, because you can feel the dirt. Also, removing shoes helps to keep the interior cleaner.
Just make sure your feet doesn’t smell (baking soda solves this), and make sure shoes/slippers are out of the floor and in a secure place.
What about barefoot pedals?
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/JC-Whitney-Barefoot-Pedal.jpg
i tried it a few times and to me it seemed like i lost all pedal feel. Braking got to the point where i almost hit the windshield with my head. Gas was not that bad, but it seemed like i needed more effort to move the pedal. I am fine driving otherwise with any footwear but with those boots for broken bones, or high heels because my wife’s won’t fit 🙂 .
Eh, I used to sometimes, but I’m not a fan. I once got into a nasty wreck where my car flipped multiple times. I was fine, thanks to a lot of luck and the good engineers of the Toyota corporation. But I’d been driving barefoot on a long cross-country drive, and my shoes having been thrown god knows where, about the only injury I sustained was when I stepped out of the car (landed right side up!) and onto some broken glass.
But even besides the occasional catastrophe, it just feels like it takes more effort to drive barefoot for some reason.
Did you at least stop Hans Gruber?
He was thrown from the car because only a “common thief” would wear a seatbelt, RIP
barefoot, no. Ski boots, yes
I once drove maybe 100 yards in ski boots, across the parking lot of my local Mtn. Never again! Was even an Automatic vehicle. Still terrifying, even at a crawl. The inability to flex ankles, or feel anything thru the soles of my feet was truly unnerving. Can’t imagine actually driving around like that, but if it works for U..
I’m glad the topshot included a VW. 🙂
When I lived in Hawai’i and was dailying a Super Beetle, I would drive barefoot sometimes. It was particularly liberating – and part of the local (kama’aina) spirit, I think – to be able to drive to the beach, enjoy the beach, and then drive back sans footwear. Very casual.
“I think there are some kinds of shoes – big wooden clogs… that are actually worse for control in a car…”
Well, fine. If you know a better way for me to drive my Dutch car to the coffee shop I’d like to hear it:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53644314952_ce05522c65_c.jpg
Wooden shoe like to know?
If you’re fine doing roadside repairs without shoes on then go for it.
For me I prefer Tevas for everything, though I wish they would make a “barefoot” variant with a very thin and flexible sole.
Even when I do drive shoeless, I have shoes in the car with me. Agree, you have to be prepared for the “what if”
Put some shoes on. Buncha goddamn hippies.
It feels wrong somehow.
To paraphrase Patti Smith –
I’m driving barefoot
Heading for a spin …
Barefoot is not proper driving attire. Your feet should be covered with thick soled shoes. Your hands should be covered with appropriate driving gloves. A reasonable head covering is desirable, but not required. Goggles are dependent on the windscreen situation. If driving a convertible, a scarf that can trail behind you is a must.
But seriously, I’d never go barefoot, but you do you. As long as it doesn’t screw up your ability to work the pedals correctly. I like having shoes on in the event I need to exit the vehicle quickly, I don’t have to end up barefoot next to the highway.
In my convertible, the scarf would blow forward. That’s why windblockers are behind you in convertibles.
A long scarf and a drive in a convertible is what snapped Isadora Duncan’s neck.
Braking force is the same but the pressure changes due to change in area
I love it, do it often in the summer.
Even drove my old Ariel Red Hunter motorcycle once in bare feet!
On most summer days, if I’ve been wearing flip-flops, I usually take them off (if driving stick) because I loose all pedal feel otherwise.
Got a flip-flop hooked under a pedal once in the BRZ…never again. Now it’s barefoot driving for beach days.
That happened to me too. That’s why I always take them off when I get in the car.
I do it all the time during summer, when I have flip flops on. I don’t buy for a second that it is more dangerous than wearing shoes. If anything, I have more control over the pedals. I think where the danger COULD come in is if you take your shoes off and leave them on your side. Good chance they could get stuck under the pedals.