As the weather warms up, the summer shoe collection may have come out to play, but experts have warned that when it comes to driving, you shouldn’t do it in certain shoes
In this glorious weather, it’s all too tempting to hop in the car in your flip flops, but experts have warned that this shouldn’t be done.
If you’re pulled over with inappropriate footwear on, then it could spell trouble for your pocket, as you may be slapped with a fine up to the tune of £5,000. Breakdown experts at the RAC explained that if the wrong footwear causes you to be in an accident, for example, then it would certainly become an issue. Flip flops may not be explicitly listed in the law, but they certainly may not be allowing you to drive to the best of your ability.
The DSA guidelines say a shoe must “have a sole no thicker than 10mm, but the sole should not be too thin or soft”, reports The Express, which means you may want to swap your favourite summer sandals for a pair of trainers before you hit the road.
Your shoes must also “provide enough grip to stop your foot slipping off the pedals”, should not be too “heavy”, should “not limit ankle movement”, and should also “be narrow enough to avoid accidentally depressing two pedals at once”. Who knew there were so many limitations on what shoes you should be wearing? And of course, with these criteria, flip flops are not appropriate to drive in.
If you were to be involved in an accident and police spotted your inappropriate footwear, it may be noted that you were “driving without due care and attention”, which would mean you were given a £100 fine, which is less than ideal at a time when everyone is trying to save money. Annoyingly, this fine also comes with three points on your license, which is bad news too.
What’s even worse, if the case goes to court, the fine rises to a maximum £5,000 fine, nine penalty points and could even see you banned from driving – so it’s best to put some proper footwear on before you head out in the car.
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