Is it Illegal to Drive in Montana with Bare Feet?
When you're doing a cross-country road trip, and the windows are down with the music turned up, you may feel like kicking off your shoes to get the real feel of that backroad ride.
But you may want to have your kicks close by because it may or may not be legal to operate a motor vehicle without shoes on in the state you're driving through.
As far as the United States Government is concerned, they say it's not technically illegal to drive without shoes. But, that doesn't mean there aren't local regulations that could land you a citation.
Most states just consider driving without shoes unsafe, but some have individually addressed the issue.
In Arizona, Arkansas, California, and Nevada, it is not illegal to drive barefoot, but you can be charged with reckless driving if having no shoes on while driving "contributes to an accident."
Can you drive with bare feet in Montana?
Yes. You can drive without shoes in the Treasure State. There are no laws banning driving barefoot, and none that say it's illegal to drive with flip-flops. And yes, wearing only socks while you drive around is perfectly legal. It's not safe, but legal.
In Idaho, their driver's guide doesn't list shoes as required equipment for driving, but if driving with bare feet causes a distraction, you could be cited for inattentive driving, according to Bumper.com
If there's an expert on driving without shoes, it may be this guy who runs Real Barefoot is Legal. He has a rather interesting video giving everything you wanted to know, and things you didn't, about driving shoeless.