Footwear and the highway code

[dot.hawkes]

hello, some people here may know i work in retail footwear and i have had yet another return today from a lady who bought a cork wedge fashion sandal and drove in it. surprise surprise the rubber sole at the base of the heel has started to come away and she brought it back for a refund. On inspection the back of the hesian wedge was marked with black gouges on both heels. i told her that unforyunately the sandal had been damaged by the foot action in the footwell of her car whilsy she was driving,the lady said this was the fault of the shoe, and she had not been told when she bought them that she could not drive in them, and she wanted a full refund.
As far as i am concerned she can drive a car wearing whatever shoes she chooses, of course, but if the shoe becomes worn , marked or damaged it is at her risk.
In the past i have advised customers that wearing inapproproate footwear is part of the rules/guidelines stated in the highway code. In this instance i did not want to antagonise the lady, as she was being a cow anyway and i was very polite and calm , but am i correct, does it not say somewhere about wearing suitable footwear?
If she had been in an accident and the attending police officer had seen her wearing those wedgeed open toed sandals, would the officer have reprimanded her for driving withour due care?

[sddsddean]

The only bit I can find that mentions footwear is Rule 73, second item
http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/05.htm
I suppose it would be left to the individual PC to decide if you comply with the rule.

[dilligaf]

You can wear whatever you like on your feet providing it does not affect the control of the vehicle you are driving.

I think the only thing that would be frowned upon nor recommended is riding a motorcycle bare foot.

[dot.hawkes]

so four inch wedges with a 1.5 inch platform are ok then?

[sddsddean]

The wife tells me she used to drive in 4" platforms in the 70's!

[sense4all]

Makes me think of the Harrison Ford scene with the Chinese kid who has the wooden blocks on his feet to drive .lol.

[Loosehead]

What she did in the shoes is irrelevant. If the shoes where fit for purpose then you do not have to exchange them. It is not reasonable to expect a shop to change shoes that have clearly been worn excessively.

[dilligaf]

Four inch wedges with 1.5 inch platforms are fine, providing you have control of the car. Probably no different to a driver with an artificial lower limb.