Barefoot in Michigan — Understanding the laws
November 8, 2009 – 10:20 amWhile writing a post on barefoot running hacks, specifically regarding “traveling everywhere barefoot”, I was rethinking the legal aspects of making it through the state and country barefoot. I used to think that driving barefoot must be illegal. Why would anyone ever want to walk into a store in barefeet, that must be unsanitary.
But why? Why did I think that way. Driving barefoot is infinitely better than sandals or flip-flops as there is nothing to get stuck. As for entering the stores, if the health department demanded we wear shoes, surely they had a good reason. Or was it just deception? Those signs reading “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service – by order of the health department”. When you hear things through the grapevine and assume them to be true, there’s a word for that, it’s called an idiot.
After doing some research, people have specifically asked States through the U.S. to explain their laws regarding being barefoot, Michigan says:
Some Michigan restaurants and supermarkets display the warning sign “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service – by order of the health department.” Although such signs may represent the attitude of store management, the requirement is not based upon any Michigan law. Michigan’s food safety standards address employees involved in food handling and do not regulate the attire of the customer.
Oh, so it’s not illegal? The store owners just figured, what the hell? Why are these signs even allowed to exist purporting authority? No matter how many times people, signs, or police tell you it’s illegal, laws are laws. So what can a shopkeeper do if you walk into their store barefoot? They can ask you to leave. That’s it. That’s all they can do. They can’t call the cops (well they can, but that opens a whole new bag of failure), they definitely can’t have you arrested and fined. They can only ask you, a paying customer, who wishes to give them money, to leave. And what if they explain so eloquently that the law forbids it, you’ve got to leave. Prove it, prove to me what you’re saying is true because I’ve researched it, have you?
What about driving though? Surely you can’t just get into your car and go around driving barefoot. Yup, you can. They specifically tell the police:
There is nothing in the Michigan Vehicle Code that prohibits barefoot driving. Careless or reckless driving would really be a stretch, as an argument could be made that a barefoot person has more control over the pedals.
Since our preconceptions are so ingrained in our brains the police figure you have to be doing something dangerous if you’re driving without shoes on. It’s all so logical. Of course that paints a very assuming brush over law enforcement, but that fact that they must issue something like this makes to clear to me that there is a lot of misunderstanding out there about being barefoot.
Why is there such a strong reaction to someone’s barefoot?
3 Responses to “Barefoot in Michigan — Understanding the laws”
I’ve always assumed both were illegal but never looked into further. I have always wondered why barefeet is not allowed but flip flops are. As an avid runner, I’ve seen a lot more runners trying to go barefoot or use VFFs. And there is a stigma that goes with it too. However, there is sound reasoning for running barefoot.
By Mike Campbell on Nov 8, 2009