[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

When cops ask you to pull over for something, they can fine you if they see you driving barefoot.
Though I don't have any personal experience on this, Many of my friends in South Africa got fined for barefoot driving when they asked to pull-over for casual checks.

So can this be worked around by having a strategically placed spare set of slippers/ sandals? Or shoes are mandatory?
I cannot drive barefoot as I get skin irritation with the heel touching the floor. It may be a good idea to start driving with socks (with relevant grip on internal roads) and then graduate to shoes

[nfsfreak]

Shoes are not mandatory. Sandals/Slippers are enough.
As a workaround, you can drive barefoot but have a pair of slippers/sandals placed there and use it when you are pulled over

[libranof1987]

From what I have observed, it is mostly the female folk and some cab drivers who prefer (or may be told) to start driving barefoot. Never understood why but have never really come across men who started off that way. (This is just an observation, no gender bias).

I did try driving barefoot once; when my footwear kept slipping as the floor mat had become wet; didn't really like it!

Driving with footwear enables you to have the foot positioned properly and press the pedals without having to left your legs.

[vkumars]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

From what I have observed, it is mostly the female folk and some cab drivers who prefer (or may be told) to start driving barefoot. Never understood why but have never really come across men who started off that way. (This is just an observation, no gender bias).

I can assure you that there are many, many men (at least in Kerala) who started off by driving barefoot. I myself was one, and drove so for more than 10 years (at least 70000km) till I got rid of the habit.

Some of my friends still do so, especially on long drives.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by vkumars

I can assure you that there are many, many men (at least in Kerala) who started off by driving barefoot

Perhaps people did this when the AC was either switched off on purpose or not available in the car; in order to minimise sweat etc.
It seems that the habit has stuck though we have moved on to using AC most of the times (with vents pointing to feet too)

[vkumars]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Perhaps people did this when the AC was either switched off on purpose or not available in the car; in order to minimise sweat etc.
It seems that the habit has stuck though we have moved on to using AC most of the times (with vents pointing to feet too)

I can tell you how barefoot driving began, at least in my case.

At the time when we learned driving, the first thing the instructor would tell us was to remove our footwear before starting to drive. We were told use only our bare feet (toes for the accelerator). This was supposed to help us have better 'feel' and control.

Of course, at that time AC was not considered as a necessity. Driving was indeed a sweaty affair. The fact that all of us did not wear shoes (I still don't, so also more than 80% male members in the firm in which I work - A Kerala trait ?), must also have contributed to our driving barefoot. It is not easy to drive any time wearing loose footwear (more so in the beginning).

And once began, the practice was difficult to get rid of without conscious effort and so it continued even after all of us got our licences. All this meant that there were a lot of barefoot drivers floating around.

Things are much different now and more people insist on learning to drive with footwear on. As things stand, the barefoot drivers might soon become an endangered species.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by vkumars

At the time when we learned driving, the first thing the instructor would tell us was to remove our footwear before starting to drive. We were told use only our bare feet (toes for the accelerator). This was supposed to help us have better 'feel' and control.

I think the instructors said so because they were used to training people on a Premier Padmini which had slightly harder pedals. And the practice remained.

My parents were told the same thing; mum at first HAD to take her footwear off while driving. Once she did not and realized it just didn't make much of a difference.

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by rr_zen

I bet you learnt driving from a driving school. When I learnt driving 14 years back, my stupid driving instructor insisted that I drive bare foot. I was too reluctant but then had to give in. I have to admit it was quite a good experience to drive with bare foot. I felt absolutely at control without shoes and when I started driving on my own I couldnt get over it. It was an arduous task to keep removing foot wear everytime I drove and put them back on when getting down. Finally I vowed that I would get over it. I tried wearing shoes and buckled foot wear like our Bata Quovadis and believe me, within a week got over the habit of shoeless driving...

Yes boss , you are correct these driving school instructors feel safe if the student is driving barefooted, and they insist to drive barefooted, I dont know the logic behind it.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by IQBAL VEERJI

Yes boss , you are correct these driving school instructors feel safe if the student is driving barefooted, and they insist to drive barefooted, I dont know the logic behind it.

The reason that was given by the instructor at that point of time was that it gives better feel and control of the brake and clutch.

[eyesice]

I used to drive bare foot till today. Today I switched to using my shoes and wow! It wasn't as hard as I imagined. In fact it gave me a more relaxed experience. The reason for switching to using shoes / sandals is that my i10's ABC pedals are a tad too high compared to other cars. Thus driving barefoot gave me pain on my legs while driving in heavy traffic. Anyway, I'm happy that I switched to using shoes and got rid of this bad habit

[condor]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I think the instructors said so because they were used to training people on a Premier Padmini which had slightly harder pedals. And the practice remained.

Not many of today's instructors would have even driven the Padmini ... I myself learnt driving about 13 years ago in a 800, and I dont remember my instructor asking me to do that. My regular driving started much later, and driving with bare-feet was a habit I developed, and have remained comfortable with it.

[ampere]

I always preferred driving with shoes (not even loose sandals/footwear will do for me).
May be one of those odd days I would put chappals on and drive. But long drives are always with shoes.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by ampere

I always preferred driving with shoes (not even loose sandals/footwear will do for me).
May be one of those odd days I would put chappals on and drive. But long drives are always with shoes.

Me too. Always I felt much comfortable driving with shoes...esp the long drives. I feel its much quicker to swap the foot between accelerator and brake pedal, if I wear the shoes. Second option would be with bare foot.

Edit: Wearing chappals would be my last option...almost no, as couple of times it got stuck with the pedal

[download2live]

I drove 20k Km before switching on to sandals.
Still to try on shoes.
What made me change?
Just was bored one day and thought let me do something new.

[Jack Sparrow]

I have been driving for the last 17 years and comfortable with a bare foot driving.
I can also drive with my shoes or sandals on but "very comfortable" with bare foot. Even though many claim that there is no difference in the feel of the pedal, My personal opinion is that the feel is much different with shoes off and on. I do keep a pair of sandals in my car always.