Driving with flip flops and barefoot

There was heavy rain the other day, so I brought a pair of flip flops to walk in the rain from the office to the car and head home. My leather office shoes (loafers or rather slippers?) would have been instantly ruined otherwise. I had not tried driving with flip flops or barefoot before, and I found out it is not practical at all and here is why.

For best driving, your right heel must be a reliable pivot point so your foot can easily switch between the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal. If you are driving a car with manual transmission, your left foot need to move without distractions as well. Flip flops have two drawbacks while driving: they don't support the heel, and there is a risk that the flip flop get stuck underneath the pedals. If that happens, you will probably lose control of your car and may get an accident. In addition, the sensation of the pedals is altered when you wear flip flops or drive barefeet.

First, I tried with one loafer on the right foot and one flip flop on the left. This solves the problem... as long as your right foot is dry. You don't ever want to put wet feet in any type of shoe, you will ruin the lining immediately! Nonetheless, I had to make a stop on the way under the rain wearing the flip flops... and my feet got wet. I decided to proceed barefoot. I had a friend who would usually drive barefoot. Because the pivot or anchor points are different when driving barefoot, you have to adjust your reflexes and driving movements so that you don't hold up traffic and don't accelerate more than necessary. In addition, my feet being shorter than most people, I have to reach up for the pedal and can't rest the heels on the floor mats.

To conclude, that was my first shot at driving with flip flops and without shoes. I wouldn't recommend the practice and wouldn't be able to sustain that for long because I have to reach for the pedals. Time to get some driving shoes and put them on?