Which reminds me of something that happened last summer at my mother's house. She and her husband and RDC and I were getting into our two cars to go visit Granny. Plus we would have had to return to Old Lyme with them afterward, which I'm sure was part of her cunning plan Just to Have More Time with You, Dear, and never mind if it makes you late for your next engagement, dear. No, we'd drive ourselves, thanks. Driving barefoot has never struck me as dangerous at all, has never impeded my use of the pedals.
Heeled shoes are dangerous, and slippery or wet soles, and platform soles, and hiking boots.
I've driven with folks who've gotten a pedal stuck between their foot and their Birkenstock or Teva. I drive barefoot.