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 live near the beach and my parents live near a lake so I have done my fair share of barefoot driving. Not a huge fan but it is fine
I drive barefoot fairly frequently in the summer, and I agree with others who feel like you get more of a feel for the car than when shod. I do worry, though, that even a minor collision might really screw.my feet up.
I’m reading this while waiting for a friend who didn’t use any shoes for décades. Driving, walking, gardening, hiking, the guy never put shoes. The soles of the feet becomes like wood at a point…
I grew up in Phoenix, and when I was around ages 5 through 10, I only put shoes on during the summer if my parents were taking me somewhere in the car. Same.with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood. Nothing like running around on 110° sidewalks to get the soles of your feet hardened up. By the time we all went back to school, the bottoms of our feet were like hard black leather.
Same, when I was a kid I remember scrubbing my feet in the bathtub and there was an embedded layer of dirt that wouldn’t come off without taking the skin with it.
Driving barefoot gives me the icks. I’ve done it, but it just seemed weird and wrong.
Plus, if I’m ever in a bad accident, I don’t want to get away from the wreckage by trying to pick my way through shattered glass bits, twisted metal, shards of plastic, and hot fluids in bare feet.
That’s a pretty risqué cover photo for some in the Autopian family.
When I was younger I went through a phase where I would walk around barefoot all day at the beach, parks, music festivals, etc. when it was warm out. (I was unemployed and lived off gas money driving people around in my ’84 Dodge van, fun times) I’d have sandals in a backpack just in case, but by September my soles were like thick leather. The occasional piece of glass or something sharp was no problem, and rocks, gravel, even Lego pieces caused no pain. Drove barefoot all the time, never had an issue.
Hot Take: No, not okay.
Why? Safety.
How is it Unsafe? No idea. It just feels unsafe.
Am I over 50 years old? Yes indeed.
Was my advanced age obvious from my response? Yes indeeder.
Not all pedal are rubber, either. It just seems like a bad idea.
I do it all the time in summer if I’m wearing flip flops, though not in the ’81 which is a stick.
I’ve driven my 68 bug (same pedal assembly as in the headline image) multiple times barefoot when I just felt like slipping my flip-flops off. I actually really enjoyed it. Maybe it had something to do with it being a bit of a “hippie car” and me feeling properly bohemian while doing it, but it was a solid 7/10 on the enjoyment scale.
My old 04 STi on the other hand, with the aluminum pedals and black grippy dots was absolutely MISERABLE! There was only one instance where I had to drive home barefoot when I owned that car that has for some reason slipped my mind in the decade since I owned it, but I do remember that it sucked hard. The black rubber grip pads on the aluminum pedals combined with a very stiff aftermarket clutch made for a generally miserable drive home that day that felt like stepping on a handful of flat marbles every time I pressed the clutch in. Easy 1/10 on the enjoyment scale.
My wife is a barefooter. She says she can feel more out of the pedals. It’s better for everyone in my car that I leave my shoes on.
The SCCA has long banned barefoot autocrossing. No explanation why, but I’m guessing safety is the primary reason.
Having crashed at an autocross, I can confirm it’s for glass-related reasons
My thoughts are pretty in line with yours Torch. If I’m wearing flip flops, I’ll kick them off and drive barefoot. I agree I feel that gives me better control. I don’t wear flip-flops a ton, because if I wear them more than a day or two in a row, my feet dry out and crack (old man problems). I don’t wear crocs or clogs at all, because I just can’t get down with that.
I had your old man problem as a young man. I could run around barefoot as a wee lad, but I became a real tenderfoot by 4th grade or so, and then the dry skin on my feet became a real issue if I tried wearing sandals or flip flops or going barefoot for more than a couple hours. Been an issue for me since 1980 or so.
Wow, only a couple of hours! I can wear flip-flops for a day or two, but after that I better wear shoes for a few days, or there will be consequences.
I live in the fairly arid southwest.
Ah, that makes a big difference. I’m in the Midwest. A lot more moisture in the air.
Where is Toe Cutter? I know his buddy does this…
I have moved cars in the drive barefoot a few times and probably taken an uncomfortable shoe off a couple times on long trips, but otherwise don’t drive barefoot.
The pedals kind of dig into your feet and I don’t feel my ability to stomp on the pedal is near as good as it would be with any kind of decent shoe on. I don’t wear flip flops, that is not a decent shoe, they are beach wear.
Our ancient ancestors never wore shoes (or clothes) to drive. It’s true, look it up, you won’t find a single picture of Australopithecus wearing shoes while driving.
I’m an occasional barefoot driver in my ’67, but only in the summer when I’m either on a long drive in triple-digit temps or if I’m on a beer run in my sandals. It’s a pleasant sensation, but not for everyone and certainly not every day.
I love driving barefoot. In the summer I essentially only wear flip flops, and flip flops are horrible for driving. Driving a beetle with bare feet is way way easier than driving it with boots on, for example, which are so wide it’s easy to hit the adjacent pedal.
I was pulled over in a speed trap in my 80 Scirocco around 8 years ago, and I was driving barefoot with flip flops on the floor. The cop said to me “you know you shouldn’t drive barefoot, you could get a ticket, but I’ll let it slide”. I had no desire to correct him in my position, but it seems even cops think there is some law about it
Having caused some not-insignificant damage in my youth while not having proper shoes on and them properly secured (might have even been barefoot, but the key issue was slipping from the brake pedal and hitting the gas pedal instead) I’m a strong advocate for having proper driving footwear. They don’t have to be racing shoes, but they need to be more than flip-flops and slippers.
I only drove barefoot once or twice.
I didn’t like it.
I’m okay with driving barefoot if the only other option is some sort of footwear that could cause a lack of control, such as flip flops, heels, etc. Otherwise, I think it makes sense to wear shoes because you could encounter hazards upon exiting the vehicle.
I drive all of my cars barefoot! Been doing it for over a decade. It feels much more comfortable and I’ve found there’s a lot less footwell and pedal wear. Sometimes I like to see just how fine throttle control I could get with a big toe…
I had effectively been driving barefoot for years, but stopped once I got the Autobianchi. Something about non-power assisted brakes makes me a bit skittish about doing the pedal dance barefoot. That and covering the clutch and brake pedals in skateboard grip tape probably played a part in this decision as well, haha!
Please just don’t ride barefoot. 😉
I avoid being barefoot 99% of the time, even indoors. Socks and slippers, or flip-flops if it’s warm enough. So I’ve never tried driving barefoot. My main thing is that I’d be hyper-aware of dirt or anything on the pedals and want to wash my feet as soon as I got to the destination and then put on socks & shoes or some kind of footwear as soon as I got somewhere.
I’ve driven with boots, sneakers, shoes, sandals, and flip-flops without issue (although I only do flip-flops for short drives, like to a mailbox).
I leave my Prius in “ECO” mode, which makes the pedal very insensitive. It’d take a huge error of judgment/feeling to make an impactful difference.
Never had issues with my van, either.
I wouldn’t knock it for other people doing it, especially knowing it’s not illegal…but you won’t catch me doing it.
Only when I’m on a long road trip and expect to spend hours and hours a day behind the wheel. Shoes get uncomfortable after that much time.
Also: your feet will naturally toughen up to a surprising degree if you find yourself marooned or sent back to the stone age or something. Humans have spent the vast majority of our collective existence barefoot and walking through miles of jungles, sand, or snow. And try shaking hands with a real old salt kind of sailor, their hands become tougher than most of my gloves.
It’s true, people who spend their lives without shoes have soles as tough as leather. Barefoot running is a thing, too.
I walk without shoes a lot so the soles of my feet are basically indestructible. Last summer I walked three times across a parking lot at my local beach on a 95 degree day with no problem. My dad walked barefoot across the same parking lot once and got second degree burns on his feet.
Hmm. I’ve driven barefoot but it always was because my boots were soaked with water or mud. I’d guess the biggest danger would be misjudging something because it feels different but most people adapt pretty quickly. It always feels a bit weird changing from my steel toes to sneakers but I’ve never felt unsafe because I changed shoes.
I do drive barefoot all the time; I hate wearing shoes and I usually don’t have any on anyway. But I usually do keep a pair in the car in case I need to go to jail or unexpectedly run into a store.
I appreciate that the possibility of an unexpected jail visit seems to rank as more likely than a quick dash into 7 Eleven.