Item — HN Reader

> if it's legal

It's illegal in some places?

I'm in India and I learnt to and mostly always drive barefoot. If I try to drive with shoes it just doesn't feel right. I can't get the tactile feedback right. Have to get used to it I suppose. But then I don't really wear shoes that much (slippers do just fine for most of my day)

4 comments

Driving barefoot is safer than driving with chappals (“flipflops”), at least your feet won’t come off and get stuck in the pedals.

For the hills I use shoes with a soft sole to “feel the road.”

Send some indian weather over :)

Or go on a long trip to somewhere more northern and you'll have to either learn to drive in thick boots or freeze.

Very illegal in most of the EU AFAIK

A quick search showed that it is illegal in Spain, but not Germany, France, or the UK, and nothing really showing up either way about any other European country. Though I didn't dig down enough to find legal advice I would actually trust.

It's not that clear cut it seems.

For private drivers it is not illegal per se. But if you have an accident, they (police, prosecution, insurance) will quickly blame it on unfit shoewear.

There is (legally accepted) consensus in Germany and Austria that a regular, closed shoe without heels gives you best control.

Barefoot is IMHO treated unfairly, if you're used to drive barefoot. And living in a country where people wear shoes most of the time, they will assume you're not used to it.

It's a common urban legend in the US that it is illegal to drive barefoot, but it isn't true. There are no state or federal laws prohibiting driving barefoot. I don't know about the rest of the world.