High heels might make your legs look better but driving experts say they could also make you a hazard behind the wheel.
In Britain, a road safety charity has appealed for women not to drive when wearing stilettos, wedges or platform shoes.
Brake said the current fashion for high
heels could lead to a tragedy due to losing control of the car.
"It is deeply worrying that many drivers have such little regard for their own and others' safety that they wear unsuitable footwear," deputy chief executive Julie Townsend told a British newspaper.
"Driving is a responsibility that needs to be taken seriously."
In Tauranga, Driver Training Solutions instructor Carl Winter said while there was no law in New Zealand on footwear while driving, he recommended common sense.
"You are not going to be able to drive properly in platform or stiletto heels.
"You can't even walk in them properly."
Mr Winter said the danger was the heel getting stuck between the pedals, pushing the accelerator down when trying to brake, and lack of sensation and control of the pedals. "You have got to have the back of the foot centred on the pedal so it won't slip off. It's about your foot position.
"My advice would be to wear a pair of slip-on shoes you can put in the car to drive in and put your shoes on when you go out."
Western Bay of Plenty road policing Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said he was not aware of footwear being a contributor to crashes in the Western Bay.
"But I can see how stilettos and certain footwear aren't the best for pedal control and can also get caught in floor mats and carpet."
Mr Campion said there had been no research on what type of footwear was best for driving, but he would personally recommend drivers wear flat shoes.
High-heel lover Ingrid Cotton is so attached to her heels that she took part in an experiment earlier this year for indulge to go a week without her heels.
Wearing flats for a week felt strange, and she found herself wishing the week was over so she could choose between heels and flats.
And when it comes to driving, Ms Cotton is comfortable wearing most of her heels.
"I normally drive in them but if they are really high I take them off, because the heel sometimes gets in the way when you are using the pedals if you are needing to brake."
If wearing wedges or a regular high heel, Ms Cotton will leave them on. But if she's taking a long distance trip such as to Auckland, she will wear flats and change into her heels when she reaches her destination.
NZTA spokesman Andy Knackstedt said there were no specific restrictions or requirements in terms of footwear while driving in New Zealand.
"If you are having difficulty applying the pedals, it's not a good idea."
A British survey found that 40 per cent of women drive in high heels, while 39 per cent drive in jandals and 24 per cent bare feet.
Confused.com, which commissioned the survey, said wearing inappropriate footwear could cause the driver to lose control of the car.
"We'd recommend keeping a pair of suitable shoes in the car to avoid any crashes.
"If you are wearing shoes which you would not wear for a driving test, then you probably shouldn't wear them to drive either," said Confused.com head of car insurance Gareth Kloet.
Foot to the floor
The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend asked readers on its Facebook page what footwear they liked to drive in and if they had ever had a footwear malfunction while driving:
Sharon Rahman: "One jandal broke while I was driving. At first I thought it was just loose. I wear jandals all year round."
Maxine Paterson: "I never wear jandals or high heels, best thing is bare feet. You can then feel where everything is but then you shouldn't need to if you know how to drive. I've driven bare feet."
Helen Ormsby: "Yep, I'm a jandal person during summer and heeled boots when its cold in winter."
Kate Sluka: "Got a high heel jammed under the accelerator - fortunately I was in neutral."
Karol Rimaha: "Yip, my jandal got caught between da floor and da exclerator ... but I can drive in pretty much anything."