Comments on: Driving Barefoot

By: Alasdair

Alasdair — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:13:43 +0000

I always drive barefoot in my truck all over Europe and have never had any problems

By: TomL

TomL — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:24:00 +0000

I slip off my shoes off and drive with only socks, primarily to get a better feel of the clutch engaging the transmission (I have a BMW 323i.) I can also feel the accelerator better wearing only socks, so it’s easy to keep a light foot on the throttle. I can easily get 35 mpg at 60-62 mpg on the highway (EPA rated at 29 mpg/highway), and about 39 mpg when I use cruise control. One more thing: the car has 107K miles on it.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:16:50 +0000

If you do not want to drive barefoot you could try the advice I found in How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by John Muir: Drive as if you have an egg between your foot and the gas pedal.

By: sasha

sasha — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:10:17 +0000

Back in september a group called Wisebread [www.wisebread.com] published 108 Ways To Raise Fuel Economy, one of which was driving barefoot.

It may put you more intune with your car but regardless sometimes it feels good just to take your shoes off for a bit!

By: D42

D42 — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:25:30 +0000

Thanks Tom, lovely again :}

By: sven

sven — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:47:54 +0000

What is wrong with barefoot driving? I have sometimes (although rarely) done so - it feels fine…

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:48:21 +0000

I generally drive barefoot all summer. It’s legal in my state, and it is so much safer than driving with sandals that can slip off when you move your foot. I really can’t comprehend how people drive wearing heels as it’s not easy to get the right pressure on the pedals. I tend to drive faster if am wearing heels, so I generally just take them off if I’m going home as I don’t need to worry about my nylons running.

as for the statement above about pebbles and stones, I’ve never had a problem with them. It’s so much more comfortable and I feel much more in control of the pedals.

By: Vagabondblogger

Vagabondblogger — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:05:53 +0000

My son likes to drive barefoot, and has driven cross country (literally, from Portland to Portland), not necessarily all barefooted. I had always been taught that you shouldn’t do so (and I’ve lectured him on this, to no avail.) You could get a small pebble / stone under your foot, then what…?

By: Steven Levy

Steven Levy — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:06:44 +0000

I hate to think of emergency braking barefoot — especially since some hypermilers think nothing of drafting a big truck by extreme tailgating.