There is a member of the Barefoot Law office who has made it a habit to drive while wearing sandals instead of shoes and some of the other members are concerned.
So we asked ourselves, is it safe to drive while wearing sandals? We came to the agreement that no, it’s not the safest thing to do, sometimes sandals slip, or they can get caught under the pedals or they can even break. It’s not safe. In fact, the Highway Code encourages drivers to avoid using sandals or slippers.
But is it illegal to do so?
You can’t determine what is legal or not just based on how you feel, you have to approach the law. And in regards to this topic, the law we refer to is the Traffic and Road Safety Act along with it’s Regulations.
The Regulations (SI 261_10) say clearly that “no person while actually driving a motor vehicle shall be in such a position that he or she cannot have proper control over the vehicle”. This means that although there is no law that stops one from driving with slippers or sandals on, should they lose control of the car because of that, then they can clearly and easily be found to be in breach of the laws.
If a driver puts themselves in a position where they cannot have proper control over the vehicle, they can be convicted and fined.
The important thing to know about traffic offenses is that most of them are termed as “strict liability” meaning that it doesn’t matter whether you did it by mistake or on purpose- the moment you do it, it is a crime and you can get punished for it.
When you put yourself in a position where you are “negligent” or more likely to make a mistake, then you can be held liable (responsible) for it and get punished.
Do you have any questions about traffic laws or any related topic? Send us an inbox or leave a comment, we are happy to share what we know about it.
Source: Barefoot Lawyers- Uganda.
