In Virginia, it is legal to drive barefoot or while wearing flip-flops. There are no laws restricting the type of footwear you can wear while driving.However, the Virginia DMV discourages driving barefoot or in flip-flops, recommending “safe footwear”. They suggest that footwear could be the difference between safety and a serious accident with injuries.
Safety Concerns:
- Nearly 1.4 million car crashes occurred when a driver was wearing sandals that became caught under accelerator or brake pedals or under a floor mat.
- Approximately one-third of all drivers admit to driving while wearing flip-flops.
- Roughly 10% of these drivers admit that their flip-flops have become stuck under a clutch, gas, or brake pedal at least once.
- The reaction time of a driver wearing safe footwear under normal conditions is within 0.02 seconds. The reaction of a person wearing flip-flops is nearly twice as long.
- If a police officer believes your footwear (or lack of footwear) is making your driving unsafe, particularly if being barefoot contributed to causing an accident, the officer can write you a ticket for reckless driving or distracted driving.
Footwear to AvoidThe Virginia DMV considers the following capable of creating very dangerous driving conditions:
- Shoes with thin soles.
- Shoes with thick soles.
- Shoes with minimal surface area.
- Shoes that limit ankle movement.
- Shoes with weak builds.
- Shoes with no grip on the soles or slippery soles.
- Sandals with several straps.
- Platform shoes.
- Stiletto heels.
- Knee-high boots.
- Ankle-high boots.
- Running shoes that have thick soles.
- Tennis shoes made with thick soles.
- Shoes with non-gripping material used for soles (example: bowling shoes).
The DMV and other agencies suggest that the best shoes to wear when driving are flat shoes or sneakers.
SOURCES
[1] https://altizerlaw.com/wearing-flip-flops-while-driving-in-virginia/
[2] https://colonialdrivingschool.com/blog/is-driving-barefoot-illegal-in-va
[3] https://www.virginiasinjurylawyers.com/faqs/is-it-illegal-to-drive-in-flip-flops-in-virginia/
[4] https://burnettwilliams.com/urban-myths-about-driving-laws/
