As summer fast approaches it's tempting to live in your flip flops, but doing so could land you in serious trouble if you're caught behind the wheel in them.
Wearing flip flops while driving is quite common, with 39% of women and 27% of men admitting to having driven in the shoes.
Whether you're popping out to the supermarket, heading to the beach or nipping down the road it can be tempting to grab the easiest pair of shoes to slip on.
But drivers may want to think twice about their footwear as flip flops could land you with a careless driving charge.
Even though it is not illegal to drive in flip flops their lack of sole and support increases the risk of preventable accidents from happening.
Rule 97 of the Highway Code states that "before setting off you should ensure that clothing and footwear do not prevent you using the controls in a correct manner."
A flip flop can also get caught underneath a pedal or be unintentionally flicked off which could lead to a potential accident.
If you’re stopped by police while driving in a potentially dangerous way or your sandals are seen as the reason for an accident, you could be charged with driving without due care and attention, also known as careless driving.
In most cases, careless driving carries a £100 fine and three points on your licence.
However, some police forces may offer a driving education course as an alternative.
If the offence is seen as more serious by police, you could be taken to court and fined up to £5,000 and given up to nine points on your licence, or you could be disqualified from driving altogether.
The Driving Standards Agency advises that "suitable shoes are particularly important behind the wheel" and add that they "would not recommend driving barefoot" either "because you don’t have the same braking force with bare feet as you do with shoes on".
The RAC have some guidelines on suitable driving footwear and advise that shoes should "have a sole no thicker than 10mm and not be too thin or too soft".
They added that shoes should "provide enough grip to stop your foot from slipping off the pedals" and "not be too heavy" or "limit ankle movement".
Suitable shoes should also "be narrow enough to void accidentally depressing two pedals at once", the RAC advise.
Many motorists also wear sunglasses during the summer months but overly dark glasses can obscure your peripheral vision and in this case, a sun visor should be used instead.
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