Every Driver in Heels or Boots Risks Up to 9 Points and Unlimited Fines

• A warning in the Express says heels, chunky winter boots and party shoes can bring a charge if police judge the footwear stops a driver controlling the car.
• Careless driving carries 3 to 9 penalty points and a Level 5 fine that has no ceiling, while a breach of the proper control rule carries 3 points and a Level 3 fine.
• Julian Nelson of A Fine Pair of Shoes puts the safe choice in one line: a secure fastening and a sole thin enough to feel the pedals.

The Shoe in Your Footwell Can Turn Into a Charge

A driver who steps out of the office in stilettos, or pulls on thick winter boots for a frosty commute, has not broken a rule by doing so. Rule 97 of the Highway Code only tells drivers what they SHOULD check before setting off, and one item on that list is that “clothing and footwear do not prevent you using the controls in the correct manner”. The same list asks drivers to know where all the controls are and to adjust mirrors and seat for full control and maximum vision.

The trouble starts when the shoe gets in the way. Regulation 104 of the 1986 Construction and Use Regulations is law, and it says no person shall drive a motor vehicle on a road “if he is in such a position that he cannot have proper control of the vehicle or have a full view of the road and traffic ahead”. Section 41D of the Road Traffic Act 1988 turns a breach of that requirement into an offence. A heel that jams under the brake, a sole so thick that the driver cannot judge how hard the pedal is being pressed, a loose slide that slips off at a junction: those are the failures the warning has in mind.

Neither rule names a banned shoe or a heel height. What counts is whether the footwear affected the driving, and that judgment falls to the police and then the courts.

What It Costs: Points, Fines and a Possible Ban

Two offences sit behind the warning, and the penalties differ sharply.

The first is the control offence. Section 41D(a) of the Road Traffic Act makes it an offence to drive in a position that fails to give the driver proper control, or a clear view of the road and traffic in front. The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Schedule 2, sets a Level 3 fine on the standard scale for an ordinary car, with obligatory endorsement, 3 penalty points and discretionary disqualification. Goods vehicles and vehicles adapted to carry more than eight passengers sit one level higher, at Level 4. The DVLA code for this family of offences, CU80, lists 3 to 6 points, and the higher end belongs to the hand-held phone limb of the same section.

The second is careless driving, driving without due care and attention. Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes careless and inconsiderate driving an offence on any road or other public place. Schedule 2 puts it at Level 5 on the standard scale, obligatory endorsement and 3 to 9 penalty points, again with discretionary disqualification. The DVLA code CD10 matches that range of 3 to 9 points.

The top fine usually quoted for this offence is 5,000 pounds, and that is out of date. It was the Level 5 ceiling. From 12 March 2015, section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 has removed the cap on any summary offence that carried a maximum of 5,000 pounds or more. Careless driving was one, so in England and Wales a magistrates’ court can now set a fine of any size. No page gives a typical amount, so the only firm statement is that the law no longer caps it.

Careless driving has a second limb. The DVLA lists code CD20, driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, at the same 3 to 9 points as CD10, so a driver whose footwear leads to a clumsy manoeuvre that inconveniences others faces the same range. Both offences are endorsable on conviction, which means the points go on the licence whatever the fine. The DVLA guidance adds that some offences also involve a disqualification, and Schedule 2 marks both the control offence and careless driving as carrying discretionary disqualification, so a ban sits in the court’s toolbox even when most cases end with points and a fine.

Penalty points stay on the driving record for 4 years from the date of the offence under the DVLA’s endorsement guidance, for both the careless driving codes and the control code. A driver who reaches 12 or more points within 3 years can be disqualified under the totting-up rules, so even 3 points for a shoe brings that line closer.

Which Shoes Pass

Julian Nelson, a footwear expert at A Fine Pair of Shoes, says the choice comes down to mechanics and dexterity. “The number one feature your shoe must have when driving is a secure, supportive fastening combined with a sole profile that is thin and flexible enough to feel the pedals.”

“This is the crucial feature that separates a safe driving shoe from a dangerous one, regardless of price or brand. A stiletto heel, for example, can easily get lodged under a pedal, while a thick, rigid sole on a smart winter boot removes all pedal sensitivity.”

Nelson recommends a driving shoe with a sole no thicker than 10mm and good grip. Fine leather loafers, canvas pumps and secure smart trainers often work best. He says drivers should always wear shoes with a full back and a secure fastening, such as laces or a buckle, and that open-backed shoes such as mules, slides and sandals can slip off and wedge under the pedals.

That gives a quick test for the car park. Can the foot feel where the brake pedal starts to bite? Does the heel stay on the floor with the toe on the pedal? Will the shoe stay on the foot if the foot moves hard from accelerator to brake? A pair that fails any one of those questions belongs in the boot of the car rather than on the pedals.

Winter makes the problem sharper. The smart winter boot with a thick, rigid sole is the example Nelson gives of a shoe that removes all feel for the pedals.

Christmas Party Season and the Spare Pair

Nelson gives one habit for the weeks ahead: keep a dedicated pair of suitable driving shoes in the car if you are heading straight from work to a Christmas party. Heels for the evening can ride in a bag on the passenger seat, never loose in the footwell where they can roll under a pedal, and the driving pair goes on at the car door.

The same sense of timing covers the way home. A driver who swaps to flat shoes in the car park is better placed than one who drives home in the heels. The legal question is control, and a driver who loses it carries the consequence.

What to Do Before the Next Drive

Check the shoes before the engine starts, not at the first junction. Put the spare pair in the car this week. Look at the sole of any winter boot used for driving and compare it with Nelson’s limit of 10mm. Put anything loose out of reach of the pedals, including bags, bottles and the heels that came off at the door.

The same proper control idea runs through the law on vaping behind the wheel, so a driver who knows the shoe rule already knows much of the vape rule.

The offence of holding a phone for directions falls under the same section of the Road Traffic Act, which is why the points range for the control code reaches 6.

Readers who want the full run of endorsements can follow how penalty points and motoring offences work from the start.

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Sources

• GOV.UK: The Highway Code, Rules for drivers and motorcyclists (89 to 102)
• legislation.gov.uk: Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Schedule 2
• GOV.UK: Penalty points (endorsements), Endorsement codes and penalty points
• Express: Drivers issued £5,000 fine warning over little-known rule

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar