Beware of Shoeless Drivers

For every Floridian who is obsessed with shoes, there is one who can take them or leave them. The proportion of Sawgrass Mills taken up by shoe stores vastly exceeds the proportion of the human body taken up by feet. People travel from South Florida from all over the world to buy sneakers, stiletto heels, platform sandals, and pretty much any other article of clothing that can make you look fabulous from the ankles down. There are plenty of reasons to forgo footwear in South Florida. You do not have to share J. Alfred Prufrock’s melancholy temperament to appreciate the feeling of walking barefoot on the beach. You might follow the rule where you take off your shoes at the door to keep the floor of your house clean. Perhaps you even eschew footwear just so you can show off your pedicure in all its glory. In most situations, there is no harm if you choose to rock on with your unshod self, but if there is one place where you need proper footwear, it is in the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle. If a driver’s lack of footwear was a contributing factor in the accident that caused your injuries, contact a Fort Lauderdale auto accident attorney.

Why Is It So Important to Wear Proper Footwear When Driving?

Some pieces of equipment were designed to give important cues to your bare feet, the balance beams used by gymnasts, for instance. The manufacturers of cars, however, have designed the pedals with the assumption that the driver will be wearing a form-fitting shoe that covers most of the foot. In other words, if you are wearing sneakers, loafers, pumps, boots, or walking sandals, you are engaging with the car’s accelerator and gas pedal in the way that the car manufacturer intended, and it will function as intended. A light touch of the brake pedal by a fully shod foot is all it takes to get a car to slow down.

If you drive barefoot, though, you must apply more pressure to the brake pedal to get the car to slow down and stop. It is easy to make a mistake and not to slow down enough to avoid a collision if you are driving barefoot. Likewise, when people drive barefoot, there tend to be other risk factors. People drive barefoot on return trips from the beach. Some of the barefoot drivers are tourists driving on unfamiliar roads and driving rental cars with which they are unfamiliar. They are also more likely than the general population to drink alcohol before driving.

Driving in flip flops has its dangers, too. Flip flops do not stay securely on the foot; they slide around, even when they do not fall off. There is always a risk that your flip flop will get stuck on the car’s accelerator, brake pedal, or floor mat, delaying your reaction and perhaps stopping you from adjusting your speed in time to get out of danger.

Set Up a Consultation Today

A personal injury lawyer can help you if you got injured in a car accident caused by a barefoot driver.  Contact Boone & Davis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or call 954-566-9919 to explore your potential recovery options today.

Source:

yahoo.com/news/illegal-drive-sandals-nj-legal-082631851.html