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One in 10 motorists has had an accident from driving in inappropriate footwear, according to new research.

The Road Safety Week study by car insurance specialist 1ST CENTRAL highlights high heels, flip flops and driving barefoot.

Surprisingly, the research also reveals that men are more than three times as likely as women (21% compared to 6%) to be involved in an accident from driving in the wrong shoes.

And it would seem that many British motorists are clueless about the law because more than a quarter (28%) wrongly believe driving barefoot is illegal, and of these, almost one in 10 didn’t think their insurance would cover them if they did. Despite this, a fifth owned up to driving barefoot anyway.

Similarly, more than one in four drivers incorrectly thinks it’s illegal to drive in high heels, but nearly a third (29%) said they still drive in them.

Shoes stashed away

Britain is also nation of shoe hoarders with half of motorists keeping shoes in their cars and 10% confessing to keeping four or more pairs kicking about.

Of these, half said that they kept spare pairs in their cars to make sure that they were safe and comfortable for driving.

The most common type of shoe left in cars are trainers – more than half of motorists (56%) keep a pair stashed away. This was followed by wellies (29%) and pumps (21%).

“It’s important to ensure safe driving at all times, even if this involves changing your footwear,” said Andy James of 1ST CENTRAL.

“Whilst it is not illegal to drive in heels or barefoot, rule 97 of the Highway Code does state that clothing and footwear should not prevent you using the car’s controls in the correct manner.”