Driver punished for ‘inappropriate’ footwear

High-heeled shoes were involved in the majority of footwear-related driving incidents.

According to the UK’s Highway Code for drivers, footwear and clothing should not prevent the vehicle’s controls being used ‘in the correct manner’. This was emphasised in a verdict recently delivered by a judge at Manchester Crown Court, who banned a woman from getting behind the wheel of her car for four months after finding her guilty of dangerous driving.

The driver’s boots caught on her Volkswagen Golf’s brake pedal, causing her to crash the car. The judge ruled that it was the woman’s choice of footwear which made her unable to control the vehicle.

A survey conducted by the Automobile Association in 2010 reported that 27 per cent of British drivers had got into difficulty due to driving in what was called ‘inappropriate footwear’. Not surprisingly, high-heeled shoes were involved in most of the footwear-related driving incidents.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 6 of the December 2012 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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