Do you drive barefoot?

[fraidycat]

5 hours ago, MercyA said:

It's funny, the idea of having dirty feet in itself doesn't really bother me. It's bringing the dirt in on the carpet that squicks me out. I have bad dreams about people coming in my house with their shoes on. Bare dirty feet seems similar to me.

My great aunt, who had snow white carpet in her living room when I was younger, insisted that we NOT take our (dry) shoes off in her house because it is not the dirt that wrecked the carpet, but the sweat and skin oils from bare feet. Dirt could be vacuumed, oils and sweat needed to be steam cleaned out.

Carpet is really quite gross.

[Laura Corin]

2 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Me too, in VA.

I checked and in the UK the phrasing is 'suitable footwear'. I can imagine that if someone failed to brake sharply enough, lack of shoes might form part of evidence against them 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

51 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

I checked and in the UK the phrasing is 'suitable footwear'. I can imagine that if someone failed to brake sharply enough, lack of shoes might form part of evidence against them 

But why? Why would shoes help you to brake more sharply? 🤔

 

[Laura Corin]

37 minutes ago, chocolate-chip chooky said:

But why? Why would shoes help you to brake more sharply? 🤔

 

Because a full emergency stop in bare feet would be extremely painful.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/motoring/law-driving-barefoot-flipflops-uk-1738703.amp

[Carrie12345]

7 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

That is what I was thinking reading everyone's posts.  If you drive barefoot where do you live?  Somewhere that is warm or somewhere that gets cold?  I am a Midwest girl born in IL and live in WI.  I hate shoes and socks, but I don't ever drive barefoot or walk outside barefoot.   It is cold from Oct-April most of the time.  In the summer sandals are bare enough for me.  The only place I am walking barefoot outside is at the beach.  And sometimes not even then.

It’s cold for 7+ Months here, and I’d say mild for another 2. I want free feet for the remaining 3!

What’s really tricky is bulky boots in winter. If I’m just driving to the mailboxes or moving cars, it takes real talent to be able to get that boot off without dragging any slushy ick on the floorboard or over the center console.  But I can’t properly “feel” the pedals or judge the distance between the two in thick soled boots, so…

[Eos]

7 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

That is what I was thinking reading everyone's posts.  If you drive barefoot where do you live?  Somewhere that is warm or somewhere that gets cold?  I am a Midwest girl born in IL and live in WI.  I hate shoes and socks, but I don't ever drive barefoot or walk outside barefoot.   It is cold from Oct-April most of the time.  In the summer sandals are bare enough for me.  The only place I am walking barefoot outside is at the beach.  And sometimes not even then.

New England.  

[Eos]

Adding that when I'm not barefoot, I'm wearing wool socks, so it's not a hot feet thing for me. I don't like cotton socks and I really don't like footies.

[kiwik]

There is currently a safety promotion where is is described as an unsafe behavior.  But mostly I want shoes if I am in an accident or there is a natural disaster.  The only time I have crashed my car it rolled on its side and my phone fell to where it was unsafe to get to.  If my shoes had been loose too I would have had to walk some distance barefut down a gravel road.

[Wheres Toto]

I'll drive barefoot on rare occasions.   If I'm wearing flipflops I slip them off because I worry about them catching on the pedals.   I do have slides that I can drive comfortably in, they have a firmer sole than flip flops, but would probably take those off if its a long drive.   If we've been at the lake/beach, I might drive home barefoot because of sand on my feet, but have to put shoes on when we reach home because our driveway and pathway is all large granite gravel.   I can walk on it (very slowly and carefully) a little bit, but prefer not to.   For that reason, I generally wear shoes outside these days.  

If I'm wearing heels, which is VERY rare these days, I'll take them off because the angle is weird and bothers me if I'm driving more than a few miles.   

That's basically it.  Other than that, I wear shoes when driving. 

I never wear shoes in the house.   Not even slippers, rarely socks.   I will occasionally walk outside barefoot but it's limited because of the gravel.  We also have a dog so....

[maize]

6 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Because a full emergency stop in bare feet would be extremely painful.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/motoring/law-driving-barefoot-flipflops-uk-1738703.amp

This is nonsense. 

I have the exact same braking force in bare feet as I would in shoes. There is nothing painful about pushing down on a braking pedal!

Now, it may be that some people who are not used to walking barefoot have hyper sensitive feet. Those of us who are barefoot all the time are as used to doing things with our bare feet as we are to doing things with our bare hands. Nobody says you might not be able to turn the steering wheel if you aren't wearing gloves.

Edited July 16, 2022 by maize

[mommyoffive]

10 hours ago, barnwife said:

Wait, wait, wait. You don't ever go outside barefoot? Do you have your own yard?

I've lived in WI most of my life (and do now), and can't imagine never going barefoot. Our current toddler is the only one who likes wearing shoes. I don't wear flip-flops. I have enough feet issues without adding them to the mix. 

I remain confused about posters being worried about the danger of flip-flops while driving. I mean, I can see why. But...isn't ust leaving them down by the pedals still dangerous. Wouldn't you need to toss them in the passenger seat or back to remove the flip-flop danger?

Nope never go outside barefoot.  Never.  I have my own yard yes, and I have dogs.  Plus TONS of dogs in the neighborhood.  I don't want a surprise on my foot.  Glass.  A nail from all the new homes.  I do not enjoy the feeling of going barefoot at all. Even at the beach a lot of the times I will l just leave on Chacos.   Pesticides on the grass.  Bees, wasps, temp of the ground.   Now thanks.   And when they say to keep your house clean by removing your shoes right when you come in.  I couldn't get over that you are tracking in all that stuff with bare feet now.

I agree with the shoes down by the pedals being dangerous.

[mommyoffive]

I also until now thought it was illegal to drive barefoot.  So even if I wanted to, I never would have done it.

[barnwife]

9 hours ago, theelfqueen said:

I go out on my patio barefoot but I'm allergic to grass so I can't go barefoot in the grass. 

Well, this is completely understandable. Although, I do enjoy walking barefoot on nice grass, so I'd miss that. 

9 hours ago, fraidycat said:

Carpet is really quite gross.

Quoted because it's so true and worth repeating. Which is sad, because I like walking barefoot on good carpet. But it's gross, so we have none in our house.

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

It’s cold for 7+ Months here, and I’d say mild for another 2. I want free feet for the remaining 3!

What’s really tricky is bulky boots in winter. If I’m just driving to the mailboxes or moving cars, it takes real talent to be able to get that boot off without dragging any slushy ick on the floorboard or over the center console.  But I can’t properly “feel” the pedals or judge the distance between the two in thick soled boots, so…

I definitely agree about boots. In fact, sometimes in the winter I want to wear boots for running errands, but just wear tennis shoes instead. It's too much trouble to wear boots to the car, switch to shoes for driving, switch back when I get wherever I'm going, etc...

 

[MEmama]

I don’t do *anything* barefoot, except occasionally sleep.  Even the thought of sandals against my bare skin… *shudder*

[SKL]

12 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

That is what I was thinking reading everyone's posts.  If you drive barefoot where do you live?  Somewhere that is warm or somewhere that gets cold?  I am a Midwest girl born in IL and live in WI.  I hate shoes and socks, but I don't ever drive barefoot or walk outside barefoot.   It is cold from Oct-April most of the time.  In the summer sandals are bare enough for me.  The only place I am walking barefoot outside is at the beach.  And sometimes not even then.

Midwest.  I walk barefoot outside whenever it isn't too cold or gross (rainy etc.), which is roughly a third of the year?  Like 120 days.  Though I do wear shoes if I'm going for any kind of adventure that could have me stepping in yuck ... dog/critter yuck, melty road tar, mud, anything sharp, etc.  But that still allows a lot of barefoot walking.

The above isn't a factor in whether or not I remove my shoes in the car before I drive.

[SKL]

As for the clean/dirty feet issue ... I don't view feet enclosed in shoes as being "clean."  Sweaty feet kind of have a life of their own.  They can be way more gross than bare feet.

I used to worry about taking off my shoes at work etc. because I thought they might smell.  But the more time I kept my shoes off, the less I worried about the state of my feet.

[SKL]

1 hour ago, barnwife said:

I definitely agree about boots. In fact, sometimes in the winter I want to wear boots for running errands, but just wear tennis shoes instead. It's too much trouble to wear boots to the car, switch to shoes for driving, switch back when I get wherever I'm going, etc...

I live where it can snow any time from September to May, and we can get multiple feet of snow in the winter.  However, I don't need boots for that.  I didn't own boots for decades.  Now, because I walk my dog out into our woods for his potty breaks, I will slip on a pair of my kid's old boots (oversized for me) just for that.

I wear leather sneakers in snowy weather, including for long hikes etc.  I keep the laces tied loose enough to slip off in the house / car.

Though if it's really cold out, then chances are it's too cold to drive barefoot in the car.  By the time the car heats up enough, you've already put your snowy shoes on the pedals and made them wet.  So those times, I don't remove my shoes to drive.

[BeachGal]

If the soles of my shoes/boots are thick, I take them off while driving so that I can feel the pedals better. My feet are clean and well cared for. It's not like they're covered with dog poo, for goodness sake!

In Hawaii, it's common to see signs on houses asking people to remove their "slippahs" (flip flops, shoes) before entering a home. That means possibly going barefoot in someone else's home.

Here in Chicago a man who participates in ultramarathons runs barefoot along the lakefront. He prefers barefoot running. I wouldn't do it because of glass and other sharp objects but apparently he doesn't seem to mind. I'm thinking he must have some serious calluses on the bottoms of his feet.

[heartlikealion]

I don't even like to drive in backless sandals lol. But on a rare occasion I'll do that. 

[MercyA]

12 hours ago, fraidycat said:

Carpet is really quite gross.

I agree! I'd rather not have any.

[Grace Hopper]

8 hours ago, maize said:

This is nonsense. 

I have the exact same braking force in bare feet as I would in shoes. There is nothing painful about pushing down on a braking pedal!

Now, it may be that some people who are not used to walking barefoot have hyper sensitive feet. Those of us who are barefoot all the time are as used to doing things with our bare feet as we are to doing things with our bare hands. Nobody says you might not be able to turn the steering wheel if you aren't wearing gloves.

 My biggest fear about driving barefoot is honestly that I will arrive somewhere and not have any shoes with me! Once when I was young my father had to take my brother to the emergency room and once there and my brother stabilized, dad called mom and asked him to bring some shoes to the hospital. Mom brought shoes for my brother who did not need them, his foot was getting casted. It was my father who had no shoes.

I am much more concerned about shoes that might cause issues like flip-flops or spike heels than I am about the mechanics of driving barefoot. But like when you are preparing for the possibility of an overnight storm, and putting shoes right near your bed where you know they will be in case they’re needed suddenly, we have made it habit to wear shoes when we drive.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Grace Hopper

[Arcadia]

8 hours ago, BeachGal said:

 

Here in Chicago a man who participates in ultramarathons runs barefoot along the lakefront. He prefers barefoot running. I wouldn't do it because of glass and other sharp objects but apparently he doesn't seem to mind. I'm thinking he must have some serious calluses on the bottoms of his feet.

Reminds me of Zola Budd

[Heartstrings]

3 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

But like when you are preparing for the possibility of an overnight storm, and putting shoes right near your bed where you know they will be in case they’re needed suddenly, we have made it habit to wear shoes when we drive.

I know that I always have shoes with me, I just kick them off in the car.   There is no chance of my ending up some where with no shoes.  I guess maybe fleeing the house in a hurry might end up with me not having shoes, but not the library or Walmart.
 

 Are my fellow barefoot drivers not taking shoes?  

[Grace Hopper]

19 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

I know that I always have shoes with me, I just kick them off in the car.   There is no chance of my ending up some where with no shoes.  I guess maybe fleeing the house in a hurry might end up with me not having shoes, but not the library or Walmart.
 

 Are my fellow barefoot drivers not taking shoes?  

I was speaking for myself! I am sure I’d be the one to arrive having forgotten to bring shoes!!!

[BeachGal]

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Reminds me of Zola Budd

Yes, same here. If I see him this year, I might ask him about it.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

2 hours ago, Heartstrings said:

I know that I always have shoes with me, I just kick them off in the car.   There is no chance of my ending up some where with no shoes.  I guess maybe fleeing the house in a hurry might end up with me not having shoes, but not the library or Walmart.
 

 Are my fellow barefoot drivers not taking shoes?  

Barefoot driver here.

I always have two pairs of shoes in the car, on the floor behind my seat. That's where they live. 

I don't wear shoes at home, so I get in the car barefoot and then drive barefoot. I slip on shoes when I get where I'm going, and then as soon as I get back in the car, those shoes are off immediately, and are back behind my seat again.

I've never been caught out with no shoes.

[shawthorne44]

On 7/15/2022 at 11:25 PM, fraidycat said:

My mom got rear-ended by a new driver, so hard that her foot slipped out of her sandal and she was trying to get her foot back in her sandal so we (I was in the car with her) rolled/bumped into the car stopped ahead of us, because she was trying to find her shoe instead of stepping on the brake. There was no damage on the front or the car in front of us, but the trunk needed some body work done to straighten it back out.

I don't own sandals/flip flops and I don't drive barefoot.

Sounds like a reason to drive barefoot.  

[shawthorne44]

In high school a budding romance was squashed over the barefoot issue.   He was one that hated looking at bare feet and even thought sandals were a little gross.  I am one that hates to wear shoes.  I remember thinking, "This will never work out."