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 and I've got other shoes that I wouldn't feel safe driving in. If you trust her too drive your children then you should probably trust her decision on her footwear?

I don't drive in flip flops, I usually put a pair of ballet flats on, or drive barefoot (though I'm not a fan of driving barefoot either)

BlueBiros - I have personal experience of a flip flop getting stuck. It happened to me. My child was in a car being driven by someone wearing flip flops. I therefore feel quite justified in being concerned about it. I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.

LizS - no, I obviously don't trust her decision on her footwear. That's what the whole thread is about!

Why does anyone need to wear flip flops to drive anyway?

I literally live in flip flops - if I changed into and then out of driving shoes to undertake the short journeys that I do every day it would literally double my journey time. I do mean "literally", not "figuratively"

Disclaimer: I don't wear the thin foam ones, I wear toe post birkenstocks, Gumbies or similar thicker soled flip flops. I'm interested in understanding more about how the flip-flop can get wedged under the brake pedal - is it just the thin ones that are risky?

I'm willing to reconsider my driving footwear choices, but not on the basis of a few people going "OMG that happened to me!" without understanding the detail more. My driving choices generally are a bit different from most MNers - I don't ever drink whilst driving (I still prefer my hands in the 10-to-two position!), I insist that the DC wear seat belts (not mandatory here) and that they sit down whilse I'm driving (also not a mandatory requirement), I keep to the speed limit (relatively easy here, given how bad the roads are), but DD isn't in a full booster seat like she would need to be in the UK. For context, although accidents are common, they are mostly at junctions where vehicles are going at low speed. Last year, fewer than 20 people died in RTAs, and whilst that is obviously 20 too many, 19 of these were motorcyle riders, of which 18 weren't wearing a helmet. The one car driver who died on the roads was significantly over the (generous) drink drive limit when he crashed.

Like Kursk and BlueBiros, I like to weigh up implications and consequences of my choices and change my habits based on evidence relevant to circumstances. (I don't mean that to sound sanctimonious, but the tone on this thread against anyone who hasn't said that they will burn their flip-flops forthwith has rather brought that out in me... )

People need to stop being lazy and change their bloody shoes when they drive.

It is a fact that driving in 'proper' shoes is safer than driving in flip flops. It really shouldn't be a hardship to change your shoes when it might just save your life and other innocent people.

I don't know how it would double a journey time because you put a different pair of shoes on. Keep them on until you have finished driving if you are popping in out of the car. It takes me literally seconds to slip on a pair of trainers. Seconds.

when i had a real job and wore smart shoes, i kept a pair of slip on flat shoes in the car. it takes five seconds to change. admittedly I wasnt wearing the dickish staggerers that are made now, maybe they take longer.

kill your kids to save a few seconds, fine with me, your choice. but the person you might hit didnt choose.

There's a whole other environmental argument about why you're using a car for journeys so short they would be doubled in duration by the simple act of changing shoes. Or was that exaggeration for effect?

The implications and consequences of your actions might not just affect you if you end up losing control of your car. I think the downplaying of this is what some people find slightly exasperatin

I'd like to ask again: why do you think this practice has been made illegal in many countries?

....exasperating.

There's a whole other environmental argument about why you're using a car for journeys so short they would be doubled in duration by the simple act of changing shoes. Or was that exaggeration for effect?

I live in place with very few sidewalks and it's 35 degrees when we leave for school before 7am - it sucks completely that we drive everywhere, and I try to minimise the car use as much as possible, but often it's unavoidable. Eg today I had to run errands to six different places (post office, dry cleaners, card shop, bank, off licence, another card shop). Each of these is a 2-3 minute drive from the other, which is close to a ten minute walk here. If I walked them all, even if it were physically possible or safe with the aforementioned lack of sidewalks, I would be a hot sweaty mess before I got to the third place. If I wore trainers all day, I would also be a hot sweaty mess. So I wear some form of sandals, like pretty much every one else here. It takes me more than "mere seconds" to take off my sandals, put on trainer socks (essential), put on my trainers, tie up my trainers, then do the same thing in reverse when I get back to the car. Maybe I'm just a slow trainer putter-on-and-taker-offer?

You don’t need to wear trainers though.

I love driving bare foot.
Occasionally will drive round to the shop in flip flops but never far. I wear flip flops from April-September

Yeah I'm not convinced about the dangers of driving barefoot. The few times I've had to do an emergency stop/emergency braking the jolt of adrenaline has ensured I've slammed down my foot plenty hard enough. Maybe if you were driving a truck it'd be a problem but not in a modern car with responsive brakes.

You don’t need to wear trainers though.

True. But on this thread it's been said that anyone wearing a backless / open toed / non-strap shoe is endangering themselves and others, which suggests that a trainer type shoe is the way to go for safety (brogues can have slippy soles, ballerina flats ditto, and can also fall off the back of one's foot and create a similar hazard to flip flops...)

I wouldn't do it either.

Mention it. Did she definitely wear them? I sometimes wear flip flops and I slip them off and drive barefoot once I'm in.
Is she likely to be driving your child around again? If so definitely say something, if not then it’s up to you.

You can say it nicely. E.g. "I noticed you wore flip flops to drive. I once had a scare where mine got caught under the brake. I googled it after and it's quite common - they're even banned for driving in, in some countries! Anyway sorry if I sound funny I'd just never forgive myself if you had an accident and I hadn't said anything".

If you don't sound accusatory it'll probably be fine.

brogues can have slippy soles, ballerina flats ditto, and can also fall off the back of one's foot and create a similar hazard to flip flops...

Or, you could just have brogues and ballerina flats that don’t have a slippy sole. Plenty don’t. Neither are prone to falling off the back of one’s foot unless you have bought a particularly shoddy pair. Flip flops are flimsy,bendy and completely open everywhere leaving them prone to getting things stuck between foot and flip flop or bending and getting stuck under things. In a situation where you are using your feet to control several tons of metal With your feet this is dangerous. It is silly to suggest otherwise.

Exactl soupdragon. It's obvious a bendy, flimsy shoe, attached to your foot by one tiny strap between two toes is not good or safe footwear to drive in.

Yet still people demand research and keep coming up with arguments why they simply
MUST drive in flip flops. Ridiculous.

Have not driven barefoot for ages but it felt all right at the time.
Never risk driving in flip flops. Even before a friend of a friend's fatal car accident was attributed to her driving in flip flops.

Flip flops are flimsy,bendy and completely open everywhere leaving them prone to getting things stuck between foot and flip flop or bending and getting stuck under things. In a situation where you are using your feet to control several tons of metal With your feet this is dangerous. It is silly to suggest otherwise.

Indeed, I’d prefer not to be in flip flops to use the pedal on my piano as I don’t have enough control, let alone be in control of a tonne of metal at 30+ miles per hour.

I live in Australia and drive in flip flops all year round, as do most people here. I don't think you need to worry!

that is Australia with all that empty space and yet a road kill rate over twice that of the uk.....

Have a sole no thicker than 10mm…
… but the sole should not be too thin or soft.
Provide enough grip to stop your foot slipping off the pedals.
Not be too heavy.
Not limit ankle movement.
Be narrow enough to avoid accidentally depressing two pedals at once.
This does technically categorise some types of footwear – such as high-heels and flip-flops – unsuitable for piloting a car.

My flip flops pass all those criteria except possibly the first- they're Fitflops.
I don't drive in high heels or walking boots. But I do carry a pair of flip flops to change into to drive. They're my most comfortable driving shoes.
Once when I was wearing trainers the laces got caught round the pedal. Luckily I was driving slowly at the time and was able to pull over and stop.

Why does anyone need to wear flip flops to drive anyway?

Because it's what I wear all the time in summer. I don't have any other summer shoes - except heels.

oobisto do me a favour read the full thread. I've had an issue with flip flops before when I've been driving. That has more meaning me than a stranger on the other side of the world telling me not to worry because they've never had a problem.

Jenala that's exactly the approach I've decided to take. We do a lot of lift shares.

Fitflops are probably slightly different because the soles aren't bendy. My friend was driving in the pliable foam ones you'd buy for £2:99 in Primark to wear on the beach.

I completely agree with SoupDragon and Delatron.

I think it would be totally bonkers to direct a friend into which footwear she could and couldn’t drive in. You either trust her to care for your children or you don’t.