Drivers face whopping £5,000 fine for wearing very common shoes

DRIVERS could be slapped with an eye-watering £5,000 fine for just wearing these common shoes while behind the wheel.

While trainers are a hugely popular item of footwear they could land you in trouble with the cops if they hamper your ability to drive.

2

Certain designer trainers aren’t the best suited to be cruising around in a car, experts say, and could land the wearer on the wrong side of the law and handed a large financial penalty and points on their license.

There are rules on what kind of clothes, especially footwear and legwear, can be worn by motorists, including Rule 97 of the Highway Code which states that before you set out in your car, you must ensure that clothing and footwear do not prevent you using the controls in the correct manner.

Ignoring this rule could see a driver handed a “Driving Without Due Care and Attention” offence, if seen by a cop.

The legislation is in place to ensure that people can use the pedals and other controls correctly while driving.

The offence itself comes with a fixed fine of £100 along with three points on your driving license – with an option to attend a specialist driving course instead, which is at the discretion of the officer.

But if the expensive trainers are causing you to drive in a dangerous manner, the same penalty applies, as well as the potential to see your case be referred to the judiciary system.

Should that happen, it could result in a fine of up to £5,000 along with nine points on your license – or even an outright driving ban.

According to the Driving Standards Agency, your driving shoes should:

• Have a sole no thicker than 10mm
• The sole should not be too thin or soft
• Provide enough grip to stop your foot slipping off the pedals.
• Not be too heavy
• Not limit ankle movement
• Be narrow enough to avoid accidentally depressing two pedals at once

And don’t even think about sliding into a pair of flip flops before hitting the open road, because the rule states clearly shoes with a sole less than 10mm thick are “unsafe” to drive in.

High heels will also leave you teetering towards a nasty fine as well, despite around 40 per-cent of women admitting to driving in them.

But high heels are not practical for pushing down the pedals as the heel can get wedged underneath.

This can also prevent drivers from pushing the pedal all the way down which is vital when breaking in an emergency.

Chunky boots can also lead to a big chunk coming out your bank account – because while these might look ideal, they can result in the driver touching more than one pedal at once.

Instead, motorists have been advised to keep a pair of suitable driving shoes in the car.

Alastair Grier, managing director of CarMoney, said: “If you are planning on driving somewhere where the dress code is smart, we recommend you take a change of sensible shoes for the car ride.”

Sunglasses with too dark lenses or chunky frames will also cast a shadow over your finances if you’re caught in an inappropriate pair while driving.

Because while they are an essential eye protection accessory, some styles can restrict vision while driving.

2