Is It Illegal to Drive Barefoot?
Editor’s Note as of July 26, 2010 — Apparently the original post below was in error. Rather than delete it, we’ve left it here in its entirety, along with the comments correcting the error. We apologize that the original author of this post made this mistake, and we’re taking steps to make sure this kind of mistake doesn’t happen again.
Is It Illegal to Drive Barefoot?
There’s nothing like the feel of the open road — just you, your car, and miles of highway stretching off into the distance. Driving is the definition of freedom, a past time as American as baseball.
Sometimes you want to feel the gas pedal underneath your toes, you want to feel directly connected to your car’s engine. Sometimes you just want to drive barefoot.
What are the legal ramifications of driving without shoes?
State Laws
Depending on the state where you are choosing to drive with bare feet you could very well be breaking the law. While there is no federal restriction against driving without shoes (apparently the ability to accelerate with one’s toes is a state’s rights issue) there are more than a few states who feel that driving without footwear is punishable by the law.
States Where Driving Barefoot Is Illegal
Before you climb behind the wheel with no shoes on, make sure you aren’t in one of the following states which provide penalties for driving barefoot:
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
That seems like most of the states, and for good reason. Driving barefoot has been shown to be dangerous, reducing road reaction times and causing plenty of potential accidents from foot slippage. Here, then, is a list of state where driving without shoes is not illegal, yet :
Alabama, Ohio, and California.
Why Not Drive Barefoot?
Since most states have laws against barefoot driving, the question must be asked — why can’t we drive barefoot? Why not just make a national law against driving without shoes if it is so dangerous?
If you believe tradition, when automobiles first appeared on the scene, they were not covered in upholstery, no floor mats and nothing to block the feet of the driver from the heat of the engine. During these times, a barefoot driver risked serious burns to their feet if not wearing proper footwear. For many people, this old tradition of covering the feet to protect them from the engine is the main reason they feel the need to wear shoes.
Still other people claim that driving without shoes causes one’s feet to get worn out quickly, and can contribute to careless driving or even cause an accident. This is the basis for most tickets people get for driving barefoot — their foot slips or gets tired in traffic causing an accident.
Driving barefoot is an unavoidable event sometimes. Maybe you lost your shoes after a day at the beach or are in a hurry to get to the emergency room or other emergency facility. Know your local laws and be extra careful when driving barefoot, and you should ‘get away’ with it just fine.
This article is part of a series we’re doing on “Is It Illegal?” The other post in this series is:
- Is It Illegal to Sleep In Your Car?
- Is It Illegal to Be High?
- Is It Illegal to Drink Absinthe in the United States?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 5:23 am and is filed under Health, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Absolutely NOT true. It is NOT illegal in ANY of the US states to drive without shoes, see http://tafkac.org/legal/driving.barefoot/driving_barefoot.html
Please do better research when posting blogs that are meant to be helpful, this is a very common myth and even some police officers believe it, but it is just that, a myth or urban legend!
Also, while this more of an opinion than fact, I disagree that driving barefoot is unsafe. Bare feet are not more slippery than many smooth soled shoes, and high heels and loose footwear are less safe than bare feet. Apart from my own opinion, see http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/drivers-in-shoe-warning/story-e6freooo-1111113093392 which claims ‘Shoes with thin soles and low heels are safest when driving. However Mr McDonald said driving barefoot was safer than wearing bad footwear.’ and this site from the Michigan State Police http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/TSS_Field_Update_16_172717_7.pdf which says ‘There is nothing in the Michigan Vehicle Code that prohibits barefoot driving. Careless or reckless driving would really be a stretch, as an argument could be made that a barefoot person has more control over the pedals.’
Thanks for your comment Myranya. After contacting state officials in the states listed as having restrictions on barefoot driving, AskDeb can confirm that there are laws on the books in Alabama, Ohio, and California that restrict or forbid barefoot driving.
Also — since barefoot driving is considered unsafe driving, it will always be our policy to speak out against it. If a peace officer wants to ticket you for reckless driving simply because you are barefoot, you better believe that peace officer is going to do it.
Did you even LOOK at the website I provided? It has info from the American Automobile Association (AAA) as well as copies of the letters from almost every state claiming that there are NO such laws. And what about the one from Michigan? That’s a michigan.gov url, I’m sure you noticed, it’s the website of the Michigan state police, do you truly believe they post that if it were not true? I am very sure of my information, and I ask you to please verify your source!
(and ehm, did you notice you got it exactly the opposite in your reply -in the article it says Alabama, Ohio and California are the only ones that do NOT have a law on the books, in your comment you say they DO)
Also, again it is very much debatable that barefoot driving is unsafe, see those websites I mentioned above. Especially with summer coming many people are going to wear loose flipflops, many experts agree that those are LESS safe than bare feet. The guy from the Courier Mail article is an insurance research director and he says bare feet are better than bad footwear.
For those who don’t want to follow the link:
American States
Alabama:
Barefoot Driving: Operation of a motor vehicle by a driver with bare feet is permitted. Exception: motorcycle rider.
Ohio:
Barefoot Driving: Operation of a motor vehicle by a driver with bare feet is permitted but not recommended.
California:
Barefoot Driving: Operation of a motor vehicle by a driver with bare feet is not prohibited.
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming:
Barefoot Driving: Operation of a motor vehicle by a driver with bare feet is permitted.
District of Columbia
Barefoot Driving: Operation of a motor vehicle by a driver with bare feet is permitted.
American Territories
American Samoa, Peurto Rico, Virgin Islands: Barefoot Driving: Operation of a motor vehicle by a driver with bare feet is permitted.
And one of the letters acknowledges how common the belief in laws against barefoot driving is, from Illinois:
“Thank you for your recent letter concerning the legality of operating a motor vehicle barefoot. It is always a pleasure to respond to citizens interested in familiarizing themselves with traffic laws.
You are correct in your belief that there may be a misconception concerning this issue. We do from time to time get inquiries such as yours. I am pleased to advise that there are no provisions in the Illinois Vehicle Code that prohibits operating a motor vehicle “barefoot”.”
I can verify that driving barefoot in Wisconsin is permitted.
This is per a conversation with the Wisconsin State Patrol, considered the supreme authority on traffic laws here.
Why should it be illegal to drive barefoot? It should be illegal to drive with heels, flip flops, and big boots. I wish people would just stop repeating this myth.
Remind me never to AskDeb–or even read her column. Obviously either she does not do her homework or does shoddy research. She obviously has contempt for going to verifiable sources. I have no problem with people disagreeing with my positions. I have no respect for those who argue their opininions as if they were facts.
Geez, how long do we have to keep debunking this information?
Let’s look specifically at Ohio, where I live. Here’s the Ohio Revised Code. Look through it. Carefully. Exactly where does it say that driving barefoot is illegal? It doesn’t. You’re making it up.
Furthermore, if you really did contact state officials who told you it was illegal (actually, I doubt you did), they should be able to tell you the section of the code for the law. So, call them back and ask them. They won’t be able to tell you.
It is true that the Ohio BMV website did say that driving barefoot was “not recommended”, but even that’s been gone for about 5 years.
And what’s this silly stuff about driving barefoot considered unsafe driving? Only by the ignorant (and probably who has never tried it). Driving barefoot gives one a much better feel for the pedals, and you can immediately tell if you’ve misplaced your foot on the pedal. Oh, and if a police officer tickets you for driving barefoot, it’s really simple to beat in court, just as if he had ticketed you for having a yellow car. If it’s not illegal, he’s not allowed to make up a reason.
It really is distressing to see this sort of prejudice promulgated.
I have researched this topic myself in the past and can verify what Myranya says. In NO state is it illegal to drive without shoes! If some trooper is having a bad day he might give you a BS ticket for “Not being in control of your vehicle” (a Texas trick that I have been threatened with) but he would have to argue that case before a judge, that shoes are required to be in full control of your vehicle. (I dared the officer to take me to court on the matter, and he declined.) Deb, if you are going to make such sweeping claims you really need to back it up with some references, just the way that Myranya did.
[...] a post the other day, AskDeb reported on the apparently controversial issue of the legality of driving without [...]
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses. AskDeb.com has posted a follow-up to answer some of your questions. AskDeb.com contacted DPS officials in all fifty states to determine the answer to this (apparently) divisive issue.
You can find it here — http://www.askdeb.com/blog/cars/the-legality-of-driving-barefoot/
We hope this has answered some of your concerns.
askdeb.com is a bunch of fluff and mindlessness irrational non-sense. At least this site had the balls to correct the fact that their are no laws against driving barefoot anywhere! But give me a break. Law enforcement can ticket you for reckless driving if you drive barefoot? I live in CA, my dad was a CHP officer, many of my friends are in the CHP, city PD or sherriffs and they laugh at the idea that it would be reckless if I drive barefoot. In fact, in most cases, driving with shoes is reckless. Think about it. Bulky boots may press down on two pedels, flip flops or footwear with out a heal strap slides around and high heels are just completely impractical. Barefeet can feel the pedels, won’t get in the way of anything and won’t slide around. They also won’t get worn out, at all. Where does askdeb.com get their information, a cracker jack box? This website it full of a heap of rubbish and I’m going to make sure eveyone knows to stay clear of it. Anyone who consults askdeb.com will be dumber for doing so.
Thanks for the response, barefoot4life. AskDeb.com agrees with you — the idea of being ticketed or made at fault for a wreck simply for being barefoot is going too far. We do, however, feel the need to publish the truth. Speaking personally with DPS officers from around the country (as well as public affairs workers for the federal DOT) we learned that while there are no laws against barefoot driving, a peace officer has the right in most cases to blame you for an accident if you are driving barefoot — or to cite you for reckless driving or “failure to control the vehicle” if you are caught driving sans footwear. We are not taking sides, we are simply reporting the facts that we gathered.
While your opinion on the nature of our website (“a bunch of fluff and mindlessness irrational non-sense”) is valuable, we feel the need to report what we learn in the course of answering our member’s questions.
Right or wrong, you run the risk of being ticketed or (worse) cited for fault if you’re involved in an accident while not wearing footwear.
Thanks again for the opinion, and we hope that you’ll change your mind and continue to come to AskDeb for all your future questions.
AskDeb, you may also get ticketed for unsafe driving if you are driving with platform shoes, or if you get in an accident (or do any strange maneuvering) because your flipflop came off your foot. No matter what you seem to believe, not all officers agree with you that bare feet are dangerous, and even among those who don’t recommend bare feet there are those who would agree that bare feet are better than stiletto heels or platforms. Now if only we were clairvoyant so we knew which side the officer who is gonna stop us is on!
Since we can not foresee that, it would be more fair and useful for your readers to write an article similar to the one of the Courier mail, pointing out the pro’s and con’s of *many* kinds of footwear, rather than making people believe that bare feet are the only truly dangerous choice, perhaps causing them to keep their platforms or stiletto heels on when they have been to a party and didn’t think to take any other footwear along.
“Apparently” divisive? Yes, AskDeb, when you publish inaccurate information that comes close to defaming an entire group of people, it’s going to be divisive.
Any research you did on this story was based on the premise that driving barefoot was prohibited in the states you mentioned, which, as you’ve already mentioned, not true.
Why don’t you just admit that you didn’t do your homework on this one and are trying to CYA at this point? Seriously, your credibility would be a lot better if you did.
Deb, you state that you have corrected the assumption that driving barefoot is illegal, yet the original answer to the query is that it is illegal. You need to correct that. Many people will read the first part of your fabrication, without reading any of the follow-up. Also, you state that a police or highway patrol can write you up if you are driving barefoot. An officer can write you a summons for almost anything. That does not mean it will stand up in court.
wow askdebs is a total noob. I had no idea. I’ve never come hear before and won’t be able to see it come up in a search engine again without shaking my head in amazement at how someone in such a position could spread such fallacy.
[...] Is It Illegal to Drive Barefoot? [...]
This is pretty surprising. I always drive barefoot whenever I’m wearing flip flops because I find driving with them on gives me less control over the pedals.
Anyone who thinks driving barefoot is more dangerous than driving with heels or flip flops is very wrong.
Also shoes slip off petals much easier than a barefoot does.
I drive barefoot probably 90% of the time and have not been in an accident in 22 years.
[...] Is It Illegal to Drive Barefoot? [...]
[...] Is It Illegal to Drive Barefoot? [...]
You have got to be kidding right? I have always driven in barefeet, I live in Florida and no law has ever existed here stating it is illegal to drive a vehicle in barefeet. I have also been in sevral accidents [NOT my fault) and have never, not once ever been cited for driving in barefeet. And neither has anyone else in my state. If an officer wrote a citation based on a person driving in barefeet, they’d get LAUGHED out of the courtroom!
Like others have stated, you need to get your facts from legitimate sources, apparently the IDIOTS you polled for this particular writing don’t know the laws of their own state or they aren’t or weren’t the proper people to be addressing or giving answers to something of which they have absolutely no knowledge. You say you polled 50 states, well I’d sure like to know what moron you asked ths of in Florida, because if they said it was “illegal to drivein bare feet”, they had their head so far up their butt they couldn’t see daylight. I truly DO NOT BELIEVE you polled anyone in Floridabecause I don’t know a single person here that would state such a fallicy.
This was my first time to this site, and after seeing uch ridiculous writings containing false information. I doubt I’ll be looking at it in the future, why? becauseif you couldn’t pull this simple criteria together and get it right, and your lack of any relevant research here proves that, how could anyone believe or take stock in anything else you may write and comment on here?
Sorry Deb, but you totally blew it on this one, and this question has been asked many times and many years ago, always with the same answer, “NO IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO DRIVE IN BAREFEET”, never has been to my knowledge.
Maybe you missed the first paragraph of the article where we pointed to the correction and admitted and apologized for the mistake? I thought that since we wrote it in bold AND in italics AND we put it at the very top of the page, then people might see it.
Please review your comment #24. It implies that you put a link to the correction at the top of the page, which you did not do. It is buried in comment #11. It would be more helpful if you put the link at the top with the apology.
This is not anything like a legitimate informational website, but only a shameful, ignorant pretence.
I do not see ‘Deb’ citing a single official state government web site to support her nonsense
Haveing read through this foolishness, I can assure you that I would never want to ‘ask Deb’ anything about anything.
Thanks for your feedback, Richard Keith Frazine. Sorry you don’t like our website. If citing official state government websites is your criterion for whether or not a site is a legitimate information website, then you must be disappointed with most of the sites on the Internet.
I don’t know anything about “Ask Deb”….
but I do know this:
I go barefoot 95% of the time. Aside from feeling more connected to the planet and enjoying a sense of freedom, I also notice that my reaction time when walking is better than with shoes. I am 31 years old and am just now learning to drive a car. (Craziness in and of itself, I know) I can tell you from experience thusfar, that I feel much safer being barefoot. I am more confident in my reflexes and I feel more connected with the vehicle as well.
Thank you for letting me throw my 2 cents in there. God Bless!