Experts in road safety, in the context of summer and vacation times, warned about the “dangerousness” of driving vehicles with bare feet, flip flops or sandals with studs and warned that “they are not entirely comfortable and impact the necessary and required sensitivity to press the pedals”, a situation that can lead to accidents.
Despite the warning, they admitted that only the province of Mendoza establishes in its legislation the requirement of “the use of appropriate footwear for the handling and total control of the clutch, brake and accelerator pedals of the vehicle under its command.”
The regulations understand appropriate footwear “those of a closed type or that, being open, hold the dorsal, plantar and lateral anatomical part, with a non-slip sole that allows fastening to the pedals,” explained the safety expert Facundo Jaimea member of the Chamber’s Road Observatory that brings together companies that produce road software (CECAITRA),
A study carried out by the observatory indicated that the National Traffic Law (24,449) does not establish aspects related to footwear, despite which “the National Traffic Agency Road Safety (ANSV) advises drivers on the effects of driving with inappropriate footwear“.
In a report, the ANSV stated that “driving with cleated shoes impacts the sensitivity necessary and required to press the pedals and decreases the abilities to use them. Platform shoes are even more dangerous because they combine high heels and a very thick sole“, he added.
“We must keep in mind that driving vehicles with flip flops or barefoot increases the risk of suffering a road accident or increases the severity of these. The majority of road accidents occur due to the responsibility of the drivers. For this reason, just as it is necessary to be 100% attentive while driving, it is essential to be comfortable to do so”, emphasized Jaime.
A survey carried out by the Observatory in a thousand households in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) showed that 62.9 percent of those consulted believe that it is prohibited to drive vehicles barefoot or in sandals, while 17.1 indicated that they do not it was prohibited and only 3.8% correctly said that “it depends on the province”, while 16.2% indicated that they did not know the answer.
Next, they asked: “In which of the following provinces or cities is it specifically prohibited to drive barefoot or with sandals?” and only 4.1% answered correctly that Mendoza is the province that contains, in its regulations, specifications on footwear, while the rest opted for the province of Buenos Aires (31.7%); CABA (14.9%); Tucuman (2.8%); and 46.5% said they did not know the answer.
