You Could Be Fined or Even Banned for Wearing These Sneakers While Driving

There's no doubt that the sneaker game is getting more and more popular by the day. Ten years ago, the industry was worth less than $35 billion according to statistics from RunRepeat. Fast forward to the end of 2022, and its value has been predicted to reach a whopping $86 billion. As an increasing amount of people begin to invest in trainers, it's essential to keep in mind a particular Highway Code rule that could see you landed with a fine - or even outright banned from driving altogether.

According to Rule 97 of the Highway Code, before setting our in your car you need to ensure that "clothing and footwear do not prevent you using the controls in the correct manner". If you ignore this you could be slapped with a 'Driving Without Due Care and Attention' offence (CD10, CD20) or 'Driving without reasonable consideration for other road users' offence (CD30).

While there are no laws in place to stop drivers from wearing specific types of shoes or even driving barefoot, if a police officer believes your choice of footwear has played a role in your dangerous driving, not only will you get the usual fixed £100 fine and three points on your driving licence, you may also be fined an additional £5,000 and nine points or even be banned.

The Driving Standards Agency states that your driving shoes should have a sole no thicker than 10mm but it should not be too thin or soft. It should provide enough grip to stop your foot slipping off the pedals, not be too heavy or limit ankle movement, and be narrow enough to avoid accidentally depressing two pedals at once. With that said, we're going to go through a few sought-after silhouettes from the likes of Balenciaga, Nike, and Yeezy that could land you a fine. Please note that this isn't an exhaustive list.