I do it only after I’ve had a pedicure and don’t want to risk messing up the polish. I would not dare wear the thin flip flops they give you at the nail or spa place because they get caught on the pedals.
In New Zealand it is, (or at least was when I sat the road code) illegal to drive in barefeet and also illegal to drive in jandals (flip flops to the 'merkins).
My understanding was always that unshod feets couldn’t put as much pressure on the pedals as shod, as for the flip flops - just too much chance to get them tangled in the pedals.
I tried driving while barefoot once… and for me, never again unless there’s an emergency of some sort. Perhaps it’s just my pedals (metal), but I found it really hard to keep my feet on them properly: they kept wanting to slide around, and I found I actually had a harder time feeling what the pedals were doing because I was concentrating too much on making my foot stay put. It was worse for the left foot (operating the clutch): there are little nubs on the pedal, and there’s a spot under my left toe where if I hit it just right it’s like hitting a funny bone. I do not want to take the chance of hitting that spot just right while trying to shift.
<< Never, EVER, throw a fireball in a closed room! >>
This was a widespread myth in the 70s. In the mid 70s, I think 1974, I wrote an article for an alternative newspaper where I checked almost every state for laws agains barefoot driving. And there were none. (I did not check Alaska because I figured nobody wants to go barefoot in Alaska. There may have been some other states I didn’t check.)
There were at the time many instances of prohibiting bare feet in stores, in restaurants, and even on certain sidewalks or malls…but none prohibiting driving barefoot.
It was a lot of work making all those calls (no internet) (actually I did a lot of it in a law library) and for years after that I was the authority on the subject. Well, in my small group of friends, I was the authority.
I bet that article was a riot! You know Hilarity In Shoes!
I do it a lot! well, it’s not that I take my shoes off while driving, but I can not stand to wear shoes in the house, so if I’m at home and Mrs. Small needs picked up from work, I just wander out barefoot, hop in the car, and mosey over to get her. I often drive over in boxer shorts as well, and no shirt, since I don’t have to get out of the car.
Long trips are a little different, as I wear shoes to most places (well, flip flops) but I take them off and lay them on the back seat if I feel uncomfortable wearing them. Sometimes it’s better to be barefoot. In the winter, I often wear shoes, as my car has a slight problem heating up…
Brendon Small
I always take off my sandals when I drive, I feel like the sandals slip around everywhere, whereas my foot, well, it only goes where I put it, and stays on the pedal just fine.
It’s been a few years since I drove regularly, but here’s another vote for driving barefoot. Driving with sandals strikes me as somewhat dangerous, in fact.
Heh…another coincidental confluence of username and topic!
For the barefoot drivers
the first time you get a rock through your windshield that fills the footwell with shards of safety glass, or have to get out of your car in a hurry on to a road that is covered in headlamp glass or spilled oil or just damn hot melting tar, you’ll regret the decision.
It’s like flying - I fly barefoot. But takeoff and landing, it’s shoes on for everyone in my family. In an emergency ,the last thing you want to be worrying about is your feet and what you might tread on.
*And don’t even start on terrorist controlled buildings on Christmas Eve… 
*
And that is the actual reason for the NZ law on barefoot driving mentioned above.
Si
Si makes a good point - I enjoy driving barefoot, particularly on long hot journeys, but when I was pulled over by the cops (in the rain) and had to step out of the car, it was kind of embarrassing! They were OK with it, though - they said the last person they stopped had been a lady wearing slippers (which, like sandals/fli-flops, are more dangerous than bare feet, IMO).
Seems to be men, particularly dads, who think you can’t drive barefoot. One assumes that’s because dads don’t generally wear heels or other non-drive-friendly footwear.
My name is Winston, and I’m a barefoot driver.
:: Hi! Winston! ::
I started driving barefoot the very summer I started driving, and I’ve never stopped. I’ve always been under the vague impression that it’s against the “law”, but I care not.
I drive barefoot…but I take off the shoes and put them on the floor of the passenger seat. Or in the backseat. My SO gives me the same line about it being illegal. Also when the cop pulls me over I have always had time to put on my shoes, get my license & registration out, roll down the window, and be ready for him. I mean, they putz around back there forever!
For short journeys I don’t generally take my shoes off unless they are easy to fall off - for long journeys I always do, and though I live in Upstate NY I am in sandals 10 months out of the year so don’t have an issue with socks. (Socks are vile.)
I too am a barefoot driver. Also I wear flip-flops whenever I can, which is most of the time, except for commuting to/from work and I always flop them off before setting the truck in motion. I just like the feel of the truck I get from it and because of that I feel I am in more control of the vehicle even if I am not.
Another barefoot driver – but only in the summer, and only when I’m wearing my Birkenstock clogs (which is most of the time), so I can easily slip them on and off. No socks, either.
i have a coupla calls in to police buddies of mine.
see if anything’s changed in the great state of indiana. 
Having socks on is bad, because they can be slippery. Barefoot I never have slipping problems.
i have been duly informed that it is NOT illegal to drive barefoot in indiana.
the other 49 states are on their own. 
It is legal to drive barefoot in Texas. Actually, it’s legal to drive NAKED in Texas, as long as you don’t attract attention to yourself. Going through a drive-through or trying to get someone to come over to your car would count as attracting attention. But if you want to drive down the highway naked, it’s up to you!