Driving in Flip Flops

Recently people have been concerned that the Guardia Civil are stopping cars on the Javea -Gata road and fining the drivers up to 150 euros if they are driving in flip flops.  Apart from the obvious safety worry of them falling off your feet while driving, the traffic laws states that you must wear full shoes when driving.  This means any shoe without a back can be against the law, not just flip flops.  And just think how many pairs of full shoes you can buy with 150 euros. Maybe a pair of driving shoes should be kept in the car throughout the summer!!

Who said the police in the UK were picky?

Hi

This is why I love EOS - I wasn't aware that it was illegal in Spain to drive in flipflops / not a full shoe until I read it somewhere on another forum on EOS.

Seeing as for 6 months of the year me and my flip flops are best of mates, when I'm driving I just slip them off and drive in my bare feet.

I always thought that this was ok...but is it?  Now I'm not sure!

Justin

I know ladies that have driven cars using bare feet all their driving life. They all say it gives increased sensitivity for the controls and is very comfortable.

However, might be worth checking if that is legal in Spain and if not, why not?

I've heard this one too, though frankly I find it incredulous; why would the police bother stopping cars just to check the driver's footwear, when just about every moped rider at this time of year has their flip flops on full view - the strike rate would be MUCH higher, and unlike driving a car barefoot (which I also do frequently), driving a motorbike of any description in flip flops is obviously highly dangerous. Still, I'll be careful not to attract the attention of any men in uniform with a foot fetish this summer (that rules out at least one bar in Torremolinos).

It's just another money earner for the police.

Does anyone know if driving without the correct footware increases the accident rate?

They should be paying more attention to the mobile phone users where there is accepted evidence that it increases the accident rate.

Unfortunately Spanish police are giving fines for many things, flip flop wearing  & driving barefoot included (so I've been reading on other Spanish forums) so, whether the fines are legal or illegal, surely the point is just to wear sandals with straps around the back ?? There's enough to concern ourselves with without coughing up for a hefty fine. Spanish police are not to be reckoned with, it may NOT be right (often isn't) but there again I, for one, am not prepared to argue with them.

Having said all that I don't drive  but my OH does & he ensures he wears sandals with straps around the ankles to satisfy the police if he's stopped for whatever reason. If you've got cash to waste go ahead, drive barefoot or in mules/flipflops & risk it. You read it here people are being fined. On your own head be it !!

Quote Dennismundy "t's just another money earner for the police.

Does anyone know if driving without the correct footware increases the accident rate?

They should be paying more attention to the mobile phone users where there is accepted evidence that it increases the accident rate."

Yes it does.  Use Google and have a look and you'll see that flip-flops and bare feet are not recommended anywhere.  Police in many countries (including the UK) can use this to claim that the driver was not in control of the car.  Many accidents have been caused by using the wrong footwear and there is accepted evidence that it increases the accident rate (to paraphrase you) but as there aren't as many people who drive in bare feet as there are who use mobile phones then the figures are probably skewed.  Again, just google driving flip flops bare feet or whatever and you'll be amazed at the amount of hits you get.  Of course, those who do know far better than insurance companies, police services etc who have done surveys on this, much the same as people claim they are better drivers after a couple of pints because it makes them take more care.......

Also, like More, can't see the problem.  Is it a rebellious streak that makes you want to drive with that type of footwear?  People have reported you can get fined so why not just wear sensible footwear?  Seems stupid to me that people will want to test the system when there is no reason.  Is this just a macho thing to push things to the limit?

Mobile phones?  Yes, the Spanish police do clamp down on that as well, along with not wearing a seat belt.  Same as drink driving.  Basically, don't do as it really is stupid. (And after seeing at least a dozen drivers in UK today using a mobile phone I can't see why this has been brought up as if it only happens in Spain.......it patently doesn't).

When we lived in the UK I used to drive an Alfa Romeo 156.  Because the driving position was so bad I had to take my shoes off to drive, otherwise I would be driving with my knees up by my ears.

I really don't see anything wrong in it and will continue here to take off my flip flops to drive.  I don't see how driving with barefeet can be any different to driving with shoes on.

Justin

When we lived in the UK I used to drive an Alfa Romeo 156.  Because the driving position was so bad I had to take my shoes off to drive, otherwise I would be driving with my knees up by my ears.

Crikey Justin - you must have been wearing killer heels!!!!

Hi,

One of the reasons why I raised this issue in the first place is because there appears to be a huge increase in police activity in and around the Costa del Sol area. The example I gave is one of many I could have given of apparent police 'harrassment' of drivers, which I personally find offensive, and totally uneccessary. Have a look at previous posts in these forums and you will find many many more examples of drivers being 'fined' for ever increasingly obscure and often 'doubtful' offences.

I would like to point out one or two things, to try and dispel a few myths about the differences in policing in Spain and in the UK.

1. Policing in the UK is done largely by consent, whereas in Spain it is not.

2.UK police do NOT stand on virtually every roundabout and junction, all times of day or night, in cities,towns,villiages and el campo, stopping vehicles requesting all sorts of documents and production of glasses, high visibilty jackets, warning triangles,spare light bulbs etc, etc and to ensure all occupants are wearing seat belts. It is ILLEGAL in the UK for the police to stop vehicles in this manner,as they have to have a legitimate reason to do so, ie they witness a moving traffic offence or the vehicle is defective in some way. They are NOT allowed to stop vehiles indiscriminently or set up road blocks, only in exceptional circumstances, ie prison escapes or child murders.

3. Tourists and foreign visitors in the UK are not 'targetted' by the police in those areas where they visit or are resident. Here on the Costa del Sol, villages and urbanisations and other areas with large numbers of expats are regularly the targets of police activity. Obviously the inference here is that this is a deliberate policy, and I have absolutely no evidence to substantiate this, only my experience and of others having lived here for over 5 years now.

Bobaol mentions in a post below, in relation to mobile phones, and I quote, "I can't see why this has been brought up as if it only happens in Spain...". Yes police in the UK stamp down in these sort of things as well, but NOT in the manner they are here in Spain.

If I ever got the opportunity, I would like to ask senior policers two questions:

1.How many terrorists, rapists, robbers, murderers, burglars or thieves have you arrested as a result of randomly stopping vehicles. I suspect the answer is not very many.

2.How much money in fines have you collected as a result of randomly stopping vehicles. I suspect the answer is quite a lot.

Of course, offenders have to be caught and punished, and I am not for one moment pretending otherwise. What I am saying that it is blatently obvious to me, that certainly withing the last 12/18 months or so, police have moved into 'revenue collecting mode' and appear to be targetting more and more expat areas, which is totally unacceptable.

For those of you who think I have an axe to grind, and question why I live in Spain, the answer is very simple. I love this place and the people, but recently I sense a slight change in attitude towards expats. I may be wrong, and hope I am. I am approaching my late 50s, drive a 3 year old Spanish car and I live in a very small community between Estepona and Benahavis. I probably get stopped about once, sometimes twice a week, I have been breathalised twice at road blocks, along with a whole load of other people, and the only fine I have ever had in over 40 years of driving is a parking ticket in London in 1972.

So, you may say, what am I complaining about if I am going about my daily business. See if you like being stopped a couple of times a week for the past 12 months or so, or being waved through countless road blocks. It's not quite as bad as living in Nigeria or Israel which I have done in the past, but sometimes it feels like it.

Sorry about all that. Had to get it off my chest and I feel so much better for the experience!

Best wishes

Good post.

In terms of traffic it tends to be the Guardia Civil and not the police that do the roadside checks and road blocks.  I think they are just giving themselves something to do as I don't see the point in them at all.

They can be quite intimidating, especially when they do the road blocks and you have them stood there with machine guns!  All a bit unnecessary really...to catch people driving in flip flops!

Justin

Justin, I'm amazed at your responses especially as you've said what you've said !

'I really don't see anything wrong in it and will continue here to take off my flip flops to drive'

and

'They can be quite intimidating, especially when they do the road blocks and you have them stood there with machine guns!' 

Still, if you choose to believe you're above the law  (we assume it is law but, even if it isn't, you surely wouldn't want to be arguing with an armed 'I want your euros, regardless' totally law abiding upstanding member of Spain's Elite or... would you  ), & can cope with a hefty fine, no problem. Personally I think that's a crazy attitude.

We have been stopped by Traffico on motorbikes who were the scariest pair imagineable. The one speaking in Spanish to my OH kept tapping his holster. No WAY do WE want to cause THEM to react over something so petty.

SO..........

More, I have been stopped by the Guardia Civil on many occasions, and although they appear intimidating, my experience with them has been that they have always been very polite and most often friendly.  I'd rather not be pulled over by them but I have all my paperwork in the car and unless they stop me for doing something stupid then I always feel I have nothing to worry about.

Yes, I fully support their campaign to stop people wearing flip flops whilst driving, they are not suitable at all but they have never said anything about weating no shoes at all so until they do I see no reason why driving barefoot should be a crime.

I'll let you know what happens next time I get stopped....which I'm sure should be soon.

VickiT....if you ever get a chane to drive an Alfa Romeo you'll see what I mean!

Justin

In addition to my last post, I was just checking some of the Spanish forums and it seems that the majority of the Spanish do the same as I do and simply take their flip flops off to drive, and the majority are very comfortable doing so.

If it's good enough for them it's good enough for me.

Justin

I'm bowing out of the discussion after posting this, which I hope is taken in good humour.

I daren't show my better 'arf that cartoon - will give him too many ideas!

Just to add my five-pennyworth to the flip-flop/barefoot discussion.  I always drive barefoot - I think it's much safer and can 'feel' the clutch much better (so keeps my husband happier) and my foot is far less likely to slip off the pedals as they can easily do with a smooth soled sandel.

Happy, safe driving!

Hi Justin I have just been on line reading the Costa Blanca News an email sent to the editor dated 4th July 2009 a lady driving wearing flip-flops was fined a 150€ I think this sends out a clear warning.

Goldie

You need to drive with diligency and full control but I cannot see the prohibition of flip flops or bare feet anywhere in the Driving Act.

The Guardia around mojacar, lorca, turre, garrucha, arboleous, allbox, baza are very very vigilent on this.

I know of one person who was fined on the spot twice on same journey home, despite her protestations that she had already been fined and was driving home.

The fact nothing is issued bar on the spot fine, paid in cash, strikes me that it is just money for the boys as I very much doubt it is recorded and the fines "are pocket money" to the guardia

I find it amazing when I read about you being stopped once or twice a week! We have a holiday home in Murcia which we love and we have so far never been stopped.

I have been driving for 40 years in the West Midlands and have never been stopped on a roadside check!

Call me a Cynic but do you get a receipt after being fined? Are the Police on some sort of commision for every fine imposed?

Hi shropshall,

The very point of my previous point was that you CAN drive around the UK for 40 years,and if you are a law abiding citizen you will NOT get stopped, nor come across any 'road blocks'. Here in Spain they stop you indiscriminately, for no apparent reason other than to find some reason to 'fine you'.

Justin in a post below (in one of his more serious moments), commented that he found their actions both "unecessary" and "intimidating". Often there will be one or two officers standing in the middle on the road with arms folded pointing at drivers to pull over for no apparent reason. What their criteria for stopping you at that time, may well vary depending on time of day and location.Police along the Costa del Sol are very active in this regard, and it strikes me as being very strange that this area has the highest density of expats and tourists than anywhere else in Spain, which can be 'rich pickings' for them.

As for 'fines', it is true what 'alarmred' said in his post below, about handing cash over to officers as 'fines' without receiving a ticket, receipt or other paperwork.This has not happened to me personally, but I do know of many people personally that has experienced this sort of behaviour. The authorities are well aware this sort of thing goes on and to be fair to them, they do occasionally do something about it. Only a few months ago, two local police officers in Marbella were arrested as a result of a 'sting' operation, where 'decoys' were used to incur 'on the spot fines' without receipts or paperwork.

To be honest, I don't want to enter into a crusade against the police, either here or in the UK as they both have a diffficult job to do. If they treat expats any different from local Spanish people, in some respects who can blame them, when you see the way some British 'holidaymakers' behave here. They even made a 'fly on the wall' documentary a couple of years ago, where TV cameras followed local police, going about their business in Fuengirola, Benalmadena, Torremolinos, and Puerto Banus. We all witnessed the very worst excesses of British youth that had been transplanted from many UK cities to these shores.

I just feel that given the extraordinary financial circumstances we all find ourselves in, both in Spain and the UK, where tourist figures are down, property prices have plumetted,small business and many restaurants are closing, that the actions of the police doesn't exactly encourage people to go out and enjoy themselves. In some respects, coupled with a Spanish attitude of putting prices up when visitor levels fall, it has the effect of driving people away from Spain, instead of encouraging people to come and enjoy the very best of what Spain DOES have to offer.

Best wishes

Bobaol, I would be interested to see specific links to the information you cite; I did as you suggested and (briefly) Googled both flip flop and barefoot driving. For flip flops all the most recent results are talking specifically about Spain (including this thread!), but there's really no discussion there - anything that makes walking harder is almost certain to inhibit driving as well, so whether or not it's illegal, I wouldn't recommend it. But barefoot is another matter. Most footwear restricts you in some way or other and I cannot find any reference to driving barefoot actually being dangerous. On the contrary, most of the information that comes up states that it is not illegal anywhere. To compare it to drink driving or using a mobile whilst driving is ludicrous. You may as well suggest that wearing sunglasses while driving causes accidents, or that walking barefoot on the beach poses a danger to other beach users. Perhaps driving without gloves and hat is also dangerous? If so, my father may be vindicated after all.

That's not to say that the Guardia may not be deliberately stopping "soft" targets (e.g.foreign tourists) on such pretences, and since clearly some have been caught in this trap, it's good advice to avoid driving barefoot too in areas where there may be increased Guardia activity. As for the suggestion that this kind of thing is more common in Spain than the UK, I think it's wrong to generalise. I have been living (and driving) in Spain for over 12 years and have never (touch wood) been stopped, and rarely see road blocks. UK police may not have the right to randomly stop vehicles (really?) but they hardly need to bother when there's now a camera every hundred yards or so to film your every transgression. The Spanish equivalent is just less sophisticated and advanced (like most things Spanish). Obviously from canon999's posts, Benahavis / Estepona are good areas to avoid! In fact, since Susan (Justin's better half) posted yet another article today about the cost of living being higher in Spain than the UK, I would suggest that that end of the coast is a good area to avoid all together for various reasons! Again, such generalisations can be very misleading. But that's another subject / thread.

Drive safely, and be lucky!

My Two penn'orth...

1) 'Policing by Consent' went largely out of the window when the Blair Government brought in the Pre***tion of Te**orism Act 2000 and amended the Stop and Search rules accordingly. Ask any Black orAsian youth...

2) The UK police don't need to run roadside spot checks since Traffic Policing is so automated what with an overabundance of Speed cameras, ANPRS and CCTV. However the Department of Transport can and do run spot checks; VOSA can and do; Customs and Excise can and do and there is invariably a police presence at such check points. In the cities, designated council officials and Traffic Wardens have a hell of a lot of power regarding parked vehicles and can have untaxed vehicles removed and broken up...Incidentally under POTA 2000 the police can run Roadside spot checks under certain circumstances....

3)The laws pertaining to Hi-Viz vests, warning triangles and spare bulbs are not exclusive to Spain; they are European Law; the fact that the UK has not as yet invoked them is probably down to the fact that it doesnt bring in any extra taxation to the Exchequer...and that enforcement would be difficult.

4) How does a traffico know that the car he about to stop is a tourist? If it is a Spanish reg vehicle he won't know until he stops the car...so it cannot be a case of picking on the tourists, even in the ex-pat enclaves of the CDS or CB. If however the vehicle is on British/Irish plates then that's the price you pay; you could well be one of the suspected 80% who have no valid UK Tax or MOT, in which case you deserve all you get!

Morerosado makes mention of the fact that they Motorcycle Trafficos can be intimidating; have you looked at your average Brit M/cycle policeman lately?  It's called protective gear; you try falling off one of those huge police bikes at anything much above 50 mph and see how you get on; if you are trapped underneath one you wont extricate yourself without help! ...You wanna see intimidating... go to Gatwick and play spot Judge Dread..West Sussex police have it down to a fine art...

We have been in Spain for three years, in this time I have been stopped twice; a couple of weeks ago in Granada City where City police were stopping every third car on a routine drugs check; neither my papers nor my cars papers which were all in order were requested, but I was asked to open the rear passenger door whilst a sniffer dog had a quick sniff around and a second dog went around the outside of the car. After a delay of no more than a minute I was on my way again with a courteous "Gracias por su cooperación." Given that when stopped I rolled the side window down and said "Buenos Dias" to the officer who stopped me I dont think he even twigged that I was English...

On the other occasion I was halfway between my village and the next when the Trafficos stopped me and carried out a full inspection of my vehicle papers and my passport. It was during this check that I found out that almost invariably at least one of the crew are dual or multi-lingual and trained to near paramedic standards...(This may also account for the reason that foreign tourists are not generally 'targetted' in the UK;  How many British plods are dual or multi-lingual?)

On one occasion we had to stop and get off the local Motorway because we had a puncture; I was quite able to change the wheel without help but was stymied by the lack of a special key to remove the hub-cap (just another little Renault gotcha...). My wife was with me at the time so she said she would get a taxi to the local Renault garage and buy a key...We hailed a taxi and off she went, only to return 30 minutes later with the news that she needed the cars permisso document in order to buy the key.

She asked if I would go this time since she wasnt sure of exactly what the garage was saying to her, so I grabbed the papers, jumped into the same taxi and went back to the garage. Got the key, got back in the taxi and went back to car to find two Trafficos waiting; they asked to see the car's papers and then assisted me whilst I did the wheel change. During the course of changing the wheel one of the officers let slip that had I called the trafficos they would have done the run to the Renault Garage and saved us a lot of Aggro...

Regular readers of these boards will know of the extraordinary lengths the Trafficos went to when we broke down in the Basque Country on our way from the UK to Granada when we first arrived.

Our dealings to date with the Trafficos have all been good; we have found them to be helpful and courteous.

There will always be the occasional bad apple but this applies anywhere not just Spain...

fb

Ignoring the Spain ones:

From Yahoo Answers : 

Source(s):

I disagree with some of those comments bobaol.

Last year I attended several track days in Spain.  I drove around the circuit at high speed and being very aggressive on the brakes...all with no shoes on...and I put in some very respectable lap times.

If anything, I think I actually have a better feel of what the car is doing under breaking when I'm not wearing shoes.

It's a bit like what Ayrton Senna used to say about driving a car.  You should drive holding the steering wheel with your finger tips, as you have a much greater feel about what the car is doing instead of gripping the steering wheel hard with your hands.

I suppose each to their own at the end of the day.

Justin

I once had the misfortune to drive a Renault 21 (company vehicle, not my choice) and due to closeness of the pedals to one another, was simply unable to drive it with ANY kind of footwear on. Perhaps French people have extra narrow feet, or perhaps French cars are just crap (my personal opinion). Also used to drive old Triumphs (Herald, Spitfire) in which the driving position put you at an almost 45 degree angle to the direction of travel. Perhaps I should have had custom made boots to compensate for the resulting odd angle of the pedals, but simply removing your shoes made it manageable. And Justin, I sympathise. I used to have a Lancia! Specifically designed for primates and Italians, and much easier to drive barefoot. We know!

I'll have a peeing contest with you any day, Bob - sounds like fun. But I agree, since people evidently have been stopped and fined for such a ridiculous reason, it would be foolish to ignore the advice to keep a pair of size 13 Doc Martins in the footwell (underneath the brake pedal there's usually space to stow them) on the off chance that one day you have to prove to some Brokeback mincer in green uniform how butch you are, and that you can exert more pressure on your brake pedal than the next guy.

(All said with tongue firmly in cheek  )

I live in NE Extremadura, where the police leave you alone. What I don't understand about you guys on the CB & CDS is that on the one hand the cops seem to jump on you for anything always looking to hand out a fine, and then on the other hand I read on this website about the anarchy of half a zillion Brits driving around the costas with untaxed, uninsured, no-MOT cars. If they'll stop you on the offchance you're wearing flip flops, surely to God it's courting disaster to drive around in an illegal car?

I haven't been to Torremolinos since I was a teenager in the sixties, so I've told my wife we must drive down and check out the CDS next month. I'll certainly make a point of not driving barefoot after reading this thread.

Roberto: I'll have a peeing contest with you any day, Bob - sounds like fun.

Just lately I'm afraid that it'll have to be 2 am, 3 am, 4 am and 5 am cos that's how many time I have to get up in the night. 

To Foxbat and Bobaol,

Both excellent posts lots of truth and common sense, now suddenly a vendetta against the police.  Also I know plenty of people who have been stopped when I was living in the UK for no apparent reason. What I cannot understand is this constant referral to how we do things in the UK,  -  that wouldn't happen in the UK this wouldn't happen in the UK -   Let's say something nice about the police for instance the way they  'police'  the local schools in Spain to make sure the children are safe when arriving and returning from school and I am almost sure that it is every school, they don't do that in the UK.  

Kathy