Driving barefoot

i am weird

 

I always drive barefoot. My car, like most i've seen, has a rubber coated brake pedal, so there is no risk of it slipping off.

 

my gas peddle has little pricklies on it the brake peddle is all smooth its nice

 

Yay, me too! People are always pointing it out. I'd rather be on the floor than a chair as a result. But I'm cross-legged now. I think it affects my posture.

 

it effects my posture a lot I always find a way to sit indian style in chairs lol fallen out of a far too many because of that

 

in michigan if you get caught its a fifteen dollar fine. but thats a price im willing to pay

 

Are your sure? Do you know anyone who's ever gotten such a fine? Just curious. There's a lot of "Urban Folklore" out there about the legality of doing anything barefoot. Supposedly driving barefoot is legal in all 50 states. Thanks!

 

Debunked - No specific law, only generic ones that can be applied at the officer's discretion for anything they decide they don't like.

 

Michigan even has its own page debunking this myth! Look here: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/TSS_Field_Update_16_172717_7.pdf

"Barefoot Driving: 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."

 

oh sorry. i didnt know the specifics. i just know that my uncle was pulled over and got a fine when they realized he was barefoot. no harsh feelings man.

 

i`ve always heard about the illegal thing, but never bothered to look it up. & actually the only reason i can see is your feet might be slightly more protected in an accident. on the otherhand, i`d say if sandals are more legal i`d say offhand they`re more dangerous. the human foot can grip better than a sandal. so less distraction there.

 

Yep as we speak im sitting indian style... Ive done it for years and I feel sooooo uncomfortable when I can't sit like it, I have terrible knees and shitty posture and im only 18... but thats what I blame for it. But I will always sit like this until the day I die. People look at me strange when I would rather sit on their floor then on a small chair. Somenights I even sleep with my legs crossed.

 

No problem.. unfortunately lots of folks believe this myth -even some traffic cops, who will indeed write a ticket for a violation that doesn't exist. With the links provided next time anything like this happens, tell the person to let it go to court rather than pay up front, the ticket should not stand -especially in Michigan!

(snip)

Flipflops or many kinds of sandals would provide little or no protection in case of a crash. Sturdy boots probably would protect against some injuries, but does that mean we would have to wear them all the time, just in case of a crash? There probably are less injuries from glass & such in car accidents in winter when most people are wrapped up in sturdy jeans, long sleeves and even thick coats, but that doesn't mean shorts and halter tops are illegal to wear while driving (not to mention this applies to passengers too).

 

yeh actually constantly worrying about a crash tends to attract karma which attracts a crash. so, less worry less chance. i worry more about cellphones & cigarettes, &/or food. there are or is maybe one state that allows one to actully drink a beer while driving, unless that`s a myth. then there`s the dome light thing too.

 

I always drive barefoot, summer & winter making no difference. I find the grip of bare feet on the pedals far better & safer than soles of shoes

 

True story:

I once had a friend who was given a citation for being a "suspicious looking character". Now, the guy was ugly, but no so much that he deserved a ticket for it!

 

The safest way to drive is whatever way you are used to. For someone who has always worn shoes to drive, driving without shoes is going to give the pedals a strange feel, an illusion of reduced control. I rarely wear shoes to drive, so driving barefoot gives me the greatest feeling of being "one" with the car. Driving with a different kind of shoe every day should be the worst-case scenario for safety and control.

The strangest comment I read in this thread was the one about applying pressure to the brake pedal in an emergency stop. Shoes don't have muscles or motors, so they add nothing.

 

I think that last, too, is understandable from those who rarely are barefoot. I know a guy who can't comfortably walk barefoot on smooth sidewalk tiles! He would not be able to apply pressure on a pedal barefoot... and too many people seem to think what applies to them goes for everyone. If their feet are so tender they can't handle *anything*, then all feet must be like that.

 

Well, since this part of your post replies to what I wrote earlier (see below), I guess it's my turn to reply...

As I wrote, this is the consideration of bare feet by insurance companies in Germany. As a general rule, I am sure that insurance employees and investigators are constant shoddies, thus not knowing about the stability and sturdiness of a barefooter's sole, well-seasoned and trained by constant or at least often barefooting. Therefore, they draw their conclusions of bare feet being inept to operate a car safely from their own feet's softness and their own inability to apply firm pressure to a brake pedal in case of an emergency.

True enough, shoes don't have extra muscles or motors in them, but the officials mentioned above seem to think that a shoe's sole offers some extra protection for the poor shoddist soft feet, therefore making it easier to slam a foot down on the brake pedal really hard. As Myranya concluded correctly:

QFT. The conclusion bare feet = softness = vulnerabilty = unsafe is drawn by people preferring to imprison their feet into dark leather or plastic cases, where they have no chance to breathe freely or to develop the natural strength of a free bare sole. And, just to make sure, I repeat: that position is taken by non-barefooting insurance officials - it doesn't in any way reflect my opinion or experience. I met barefoot people who operate trucks and tractors safely in their bare feet (such as the lovely woman who towed my trailer from one town to another about ten years ago... it was a nice summer day, she wore blue shorts, a white tank top, her mohawk, a smile and no shoes, as she and I went there - both barefoot - to hook the little wooden trailer to her IFA W50 truck. That was when I was living kind of outside of mainstream society... )

Wiggling toes encouragingly at all barefoot drivers out there,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Unable? Or would it just be uncomfortable for him? I think most people would rather have one sore foot than die in a wreck, or injure someone. Adrenaline tends to take over.

My car has power brakes and a brake pedal large enough for both feet, so I can easily apply 4 or 5 times enough pressure to lock up the brakes and activate the ABS system. And if I was in an accident, I would put on my flip-flops before getting out of the car.

That problem explains about 99% of the negative comments I hear or read about doing anything in bare feet. Unfortunately, this is likely to result in more regulations and laws requiring shoes in almost all situations in the USA.

Lawmakers here hate any kind of a situation that requires members of the public to exercise any kind of personal judgment or responsibility. Laws are nearly always designed around the stupidest members of society. If we have the freedom to decide when we need shoes and when we don't, it is possible that someone could make the wrong choice now and then, and this country seems to have no further tolerance for such errors.

For the tenderfoot majority that has such strong opinions on this subject, I'd like to know how they think that the human race survived without shoes for so many thousands of years. Hell, for that matter, how do they think that Southerners got by without shoes in the summer a hundred years ago? Maybe they are unaware of this history.