Spring Break
Legal myths, rumors about driving barefoot busted
Alex Lawson
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News
This week's legal quandary is whether you can be cited for driving a car without shoes on.
The answer from multiple law enforcement organizations is a resounding no.
"There is nothing that indicates in any traffic manual that you can be cited for driving barefoot," Lt. Sharon Sweeney, ISU Police Department, said.
This, like many legal myths, is perpetuated by stories passed along from person to person. Someone claims to have heard that someone once got a ticket for driving barefoot. In the state of Illinois, it's just not the case.
Police officers themselves are not immune to hearing this rumor.
"I've always heard that myself, but when I became a police officer I found out: Nope," Officer Brian Williams, community services coordinator for the Normal Police Department, said.
"I just talked to a couple other officers and they all thought the same thing until they became police officers."
Several ISU students speculated about what the reason for such a law might be.
"I guess that maybe you don't have the same perception of the pedals under feet if you're not wearing shoes. I don't know," Trisha Brookhart, a sophomore English education major, said.
Andrew Coakley, a sophomore secondary education major, agrees with that sentiment and speculated as to where the myth comes from.
"It's like an urban myth almost. Just because you drive with your feet, you have more room for error or I guess you could slip, people kind of assume that," Coakley said.
"People are dumb, one person assumes it, then everyone assumes it."
The fear of being cited for this non-offense has inspired some odd behavior on the roads. Officer Williams recalled an instance where he pulled a male over and noticed he was wearing his girlfriend's shoes.
"I asked 'Why are you wearing them?' and he said 'Because I need to wear shoes to drive', no you really don't," Williams said.
The reason it's not a law is pretty practical as far as Williams is concerned.
"It makes sense because bare foot is not going to impede the pedals any more than a foot with a shoe on it," Williams said.
Lt. Sweeney speculates that the myth might come from driver's education instructors saying to always wear shoes and people interpreting that as law.
"I remember in high school one of my girlfriends got in a car accident and it was winter and she never wore shoes, so she was standing outside with no shoes," Sweeney said.
"It may be something that driver's ed. teachers say just in case of an accident so you don't have to stand around outside."
The answer from multiple law enforcement organizations is a resounding no.
"There is nothing that indicates in any traffic manual that you can be cited for driving barefoot," Lt. Sharon Sweeney, ISU Police Department, said.
This, like many legal myths, is perpetuated by stories passed along from person to person. Someone claims to have heard that someone once got a ticket for driving barefoot. In the state of Illinois, it's just not the case.
Police officers themselves are not immune to hearing this rumor.
"I've always heard that myself, but when I became a police officer I found out: Nope," Officer Brian Williams, community services coordinator for the Normal Police Department, said.
"I just talked to a couple other officers and they all thought the same thing until they became police officers."
Several ISU students speculated about what the reason for such a law might be.
"I guess that maybe you don't have the same perception of the pedals under feet if you're not wearing shoes. I don't know," Trisha Brookhart, a sophomore English education major, said.
Andrew Coakley, a sophomore secondary education major, agrees with that sentiment and speculated as to where the myth comes from.
"It's like an urban myth almost. Just because you drive with your feet, you have more room for error or I guess you could slip, people kind of assume that," Coakley said.
"People are dumb, one person assumes it, then everyone assumes it."
The fear of being cited for this non-offense has inspired some odd behavior on the roads. Officer Williams recalled an instance where he pulled a male over and noticed he was wearing his girlfriend's shoes.
"I asked 'Why are you wearing them?' and he said 'Because I need to wear shoes to drive', no you really don't," Williams said.
The reason it's not a law is pretty practical as far as Williams is concerned.
"It makes sense because bare foot is not going to impede the pedals any more than a foot with a shoe on it," Williams said.
Lt. Sweeney speculates that the myth might come from driver's education instructors saying to always wear shoes and people interpreting that as law.
"I remember in high school one of my girlfriends got in a car accident and it was winter and she never wore shoes, so she was standing outside with no shoes," Sweeney said.
"It may be something that driver's ed. teachers say just in case of an accident so you don't have to stand around outside."
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