To be worried about friend driving in flip flops?

[MargotLovedTom1]

Just that. Friend kindly offered to take my DC out for the afternoon with her DC. I just noticed last minute that she's wearing beach flip flops to drive in. They've gone off and I was left thinking I should've said something, because as far as I'm concerned flip flops are dangerous for driving in and she's got my kid in the car. They're not just popping round the corner either. But wtf could I have said without sounding like a nob?!

I drive in flip flops all the time. You are worrying about nothing.

I change into my Toms to drive. I won't drive in sandals unless they encase my foot and have a back.

I just drive barefoot.

I know mn pushes that it is feminine to be pig thick regarding.maths, but the lack of understanding of risk is very scary. the road death rate in many countries is much higher than ours, and ours is bad enough.

Again, it's not about maths as you put it forward. Not sure how much you have traveled but surely you can see that in order to work on a straight comparison of numbers you need to be the same in all respects i.e. you need to be comparing apples with apples and apples with oranges. This would include population (number), vehicle factors, road factors and medical factors.

For example, you really can't be surprised about an increased road toll in an Asian country with high population, 95% motorbike use, shit roads, virtually no road rules, entire families riding on one bike, no helmets and no suitable medical assistance at all when they crash.

Have you been to many South American countries and used their roads (and ancient hobbled together cars/trucks/buses with brakes being a bonus)? Again, pretty obvious they are going to have far higher road tolls than places like the UK. If you travel outside the UK it quickly becomes obvious why there is such a difference in road tolls in a lot of countries, and it sure ain't flip flops.

Illegal right? My driving instructor warned me not to wear to any lessons or test as I will be sent away

from link:
" wedge heels, espadrilles and sandals in general."

hang on. sandals in general? I find that hard to believe. So what are they actually suggesting to wear in the height of summer?

Sandals of a certain thickness or rigidity?

Almost any shoe could get stuck, or a strap or lace attached, of a boot, or the most conservative men's shoes with laces - if you are going to go to that extreme?

I have shoes that I keep in my car for driving. I can't drive in anything with a thick sole, so I keep a pair of converse in my car just to drive in. I remember when learning to drive I had a pair of Timberland boots on and couldn't feel the pedals enough for my liking.

Driving bare foot or with flip flops on is so silly I can't believe anyone would defend it.

I drive in flip flops all the time. You are worrying about nothing.

What an ignorant comment, given people have posted about their bad experiences. It is not worrying about nothing. You must understand that people do dangerous shit all the time and sometimes it takes years to get caught out, if they ever do. It doesn't make it any less dangerous because you haven't had an accident yet. After all there are hundred of idiots who text and drive who haven't been in an accident yet, but we don't tell people it's nothing to worry about because we know it has the ability to go dangerously wrong.

Driving is bloody dangerous enough as it is, increasing your chances of having an accident and possibly harming other innocent drivers is selfish. Put some proper shoes on. It takes seconds to change them.

I was thinking about this thread this morning (whilst driving in flip flops)

I don't take my heel off the floor - I "pivot" from accelerator to brake (automatic so no clutch pedal). The only time I lift my foot up to use a pedal is for the foot brake (it's higher up , presumably to avoid accidental use whilst driving, and my foot is too small to reach it with my heel on the ground).

So I can't see how I would get the sole of my flip flop trapped under the pedal, except maybe when I first get into the car. Am I missing something?

It's different when you drive a manual @OlennasWimple - you need to keep moving your foot up and down on the clutch to change gear, and then you either put your foot on the floor when you're not using it, or some people "hover" their foot above the clutch.

I can easily see your foot getting caught in flip flops. Moving it quickly from the floor to the clutch to change gear due to needing to stop or brake at the last minute, for example, or getting in the wrong gear up a hill and needing to change gear fast to prevent the car from stalling.

My driving instructor used to refuse to go ahead with the lesson if you were in inappropriate footwear - so it had to be closed shoes with a solid, but not too thick sole. So you can feel the pedals and the bite, but you still have grip so your feet don't slip around.

Personally I think it's not worth the risk. Yes, you might go out thousands of times in flip flops without an accident, but I couldn't live with myself if I got in an accident and injured someone because my footwear meant I couldn't hit the brakes properly, I would feel SO guilty.

Could I ask the people who have read the thread including all the near misses and at least one fatality and say that they will still continue to drive in flip flops, whether they are worried that they would not be insured if they had an accident (as stated on several of the posts)?

But then I suppose that if they aren't even worried about their own and their children's lives, I don't suppose they will be too worried about not being insured.

I drive in flip flops all the time. You are worrying about nothing

My Uncle Stan smoked 40 a day and lived until he was 90. So I don't know what all this fuss about cigarettes is...

Natasha2

In my state insurance isn’t a legal requirement.

I find snow boots are worse to drive in than flip flops.

I think this thread just highlights the different ways people evaluate and perceive risk.

I was stopped at a random checkpoint one time, I had taken off my heels and was driving barefoot as dh had taken my driving shoes out of the car. The Garda read me the riot act about driving barefoot and only that I lived literally 20 ft away and he could see me get to my house he would have impounded my car. I have to say I didn’t feel safe driving barefoot and wouldn’t do it on a long journey or with anyone else in the car with me. Same for sandals, I had hard soled ones on and when moving my feet the pedal got stuck between the sole of the sandal and my toes. I was panic stricken and couldn’t dislodge my foot. Thankfully I was going 15km an hour in a school zone with no traffic so I crawled to a stop and unwedged my foot.
I’m a good confident driver, I love driving but those incidents made me very aware of what footwear to use

I just checked my insurance too, and there's nothing in there about flip flops (95% of the country would be uninsured if that were the case), though I supposed insurers could always try the "undue care and attention" route if they really wanted to wriggle out of a claim.

It's not a legal requirement here either - hell, it's still legal to drive whilst actually drinking, and plenty of people do...

adaline - thanks, I should have said that I learned to drive a manual, and it's only since moving overseas that I have driven an automatic.

Did most posters who have reported accidents or near misses have the problem with their clutch foot? That's probably what I should have asked.

It's not a legal requirement here either - hell, it's still legal to drive whilst actually drinking, and plenty of people do...

Yep, a “truck beer” is a thing here.......

I suppose if someone drunk wearing flip flops crashes into another driver that is also drunk and wearing flip flops then they are evens.

Bizarre seeing how much people will try to justify it. Just because you've never had a problem - yet - means no one else ever has or will. It's happened to me (flip flop bending under the pedal) in the past so obviously I am going to worry about it! Sheesh.

Also interested to know how the flip flop drivers reconcile their "It's safe and never going to be a problem," stance with the fact that it's illegal in many countries.

MargotLovedTom1

Everyone evaluates risk differently based on life experience and location. I would do different things driving around home that I would around a city.

Also interested to know how the flip flop drivers reconcile their "It's safe and never going to be a problem," stance with the fact that it's illegal in many countries.

Well, they will probably say that the drivers in the countries where it has been banned are all incompetent drivers compared to the countries where it hasn't.

But of course, you can't reconcile it, so our Government needs to act to protect us from the idiots who can't see they are putting their lives at risk.

Insurance companies are acting as enforcers, but it is too late once someone has been killed because most people won't realise that they won't be insured before the event.

I just hope your thread gets the publicity it deserves.

it depends on the pedal position ime.

I can and have driven with flipflops with no bother at all, but there is something about my current car that means my flip flops do get in the way, so I won't drive this car in them.

I also cannot get on with wellies or walking shoes or platform wedges so I very rarely wear those to drive.

Dh has bother in my car with his much bigger wider feet he often catches two pedals so he has to offset his feet in my car. I usually drive mine though.

My partner had a really nasty accident last month when someone hit him when he was in stationary traffic. They said their foot slipped. They were wearing flip flops.

I never wear flip flops, wellies or heels over one inch when driving. Look at the footwear that is worn by racing drivers. Proper boots, no thick soles. You won't see them in heels or flip flops.

Wow, this thread is shocking.

The utter stupidity of the 'I've never had a problem so it must be fine' brigade. Doesn't meant it's safe just because you haven't had an issue... Yet.

My husband crashed his car wearing his flip flops (maybe he had them on wrong 🙄). Many people here are staying the same. They get wedged under the break and it's very dangerous. But hey you've never had a problem so you must all be superior flip flop wearers...

Getting in a car is one of the most dangerous things we do in life. Anything that makes that a bit safer (like wearing correct footwear) should be a no brainier.

No brainer. Bloody auto correct.

Kursk my friend was undertaking a substantial journey involving both built up areas and a motorway with heavy, fast moving traffic in a UK country. She was driving wearing flip flops with my child in the car. The fact that some people drive on deserted country roads in flip flops/ some people are not legally required to have car insurance/ some people have a beer truck is of no relevance to me or my concerns in this particular situation. I'm sure you can understand why I was worried now you know the specific circumstances.

Thanks Natasha 2.