If you were pushed to think of a dangerous shoe, you might opt for the stilts that Naomi Campbell famously fell off, or a particularly pointy stiletto which might worry health and safety, but you'd be wrong. The humble flip flop may look like it couldn't cause any serious damage to anyone.
But behind the wheel it's a potential killer.
Flip flop
A survey by Sheila's Wheels revealed that 27% of drivers have been caught in a flip flop-related incident. The main problem is that because the shoes are not firmly attached, they increase braking times. There's also the risk that they may fall off and get stuck behind the pedals - 11% of people said this had happened to them.
The researchers calculated that in all this means flip flops could cause 1.4 million road accidents or near misses each year.
We do take some precautions. Some 14% of drivers have refused to drive because they are wearing the wrong shoes, and 26% of women and 12% of men carry driving shoes in the car just in case.
However, there is clearly more we should be doing, as one in ten women have driven in shoes that they struggle to walk in.
Shoes that are hardest to drive in:
1. Flip flops
2. Bare feet
3. Wedge heels
4. Espadrilles
5. Sandals
Injuries
To make matters worse, in a separate study a few years back, the NHS has revealed that flip flops injure 200,000 people a year - at a cost of £40 million in treatment. There are the basic problems such as twisted ankles and broken arms and wrists from falling over.
Then there are the muscle problems from constantly scrunching your toes to keep them on. Finally, there's the fact that the shoes force people to put more pressure on the outside of their foot - causing ankle damage.
