Easter is often the precursor to the summer season, when the first wave of tourists take a break from the norm and have a well deserved holiday, and as it is the first time many people strip off down to the minimum amount of clothing, flip flops (or similar loose fitting shoes) often become the norm, as does the question about driving in flip flops.
Before we get to the legalities (spoiler: It is not illegal as such), let us be clear, driving in flip flops, or other inappropriate footwear, can be very dangerous, as was the case in 2016 when a loose fitting sandal got trapped behind the brake pedal of a car in Manchester, the car crashing into a wall and a little girl being killed as a result, something the driving father will have to live with for the rest of his life.
However, despite the danger, there is no specific law in Spain dictating what sort of footwear can or cannot be worn when driving.
There are however laws which dictate that as a driver you must always be in full control of your vehicle. If you are wearing inappropriate footwear and are involved in an incident, a collision, or are caught committing an offence, speeding as an example, then you are clearly not in full control, and so your footwear can be taken into consideration as a contributing factor, and so, you can be fined in this sense.
When you drive with flip flops if becomes easier to be involved in an incident. When you drive back home from the beach, for example, your flip flops are often wet and have sand on them, therefore you have a high risk of losing your flip flops while driving or when you use your car pedals. With Flip flops you cannot break or accelerate properly, ALL these factors can end in a traffic incident or infraction and in these cases, you can be fined for driving with inappropriate footwear.
Wearing appropriate footwear is a must when driving. When you think about the physical process required to make a vehicle go, turn, or stop, all the actions are performed by our hands and feet.
Flip flops and sandals are considered by far the most dangerous of all inappropriate footwear. Shoes which don´t fit securely may fall off when driving and can get in the way of the pedals as we have explained. Equally dangerous is how the foot can slip whilst the shoe remains in contact with the pedal, thus reducing braking time and causing a considerable risk when stopping.
High heels also pose their own problems, largely because these shoes are designed to alter the shape of the foot and ankle to raise the profile of the wearer. That´s all very well for a glamorous stroll through a prestigious event, but when sitting in a driving position the shape of the shoe prevents correct contact with the pedals, again reducing the response time.
We strongly recommend that you always wear appropriate, fitting footwear when you drive, for the reasons we have explained, inappropriate footwear will be taken into consideration, but they are not expressly forbidden.
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