Anyone wearing boots to drive manual?

I was pulled over for speeding at a time when my driver side window didn't roll down (my old Ford Explorer 5MT). The cop had me get out of the car completely, and I totally forgot I was barefoot. He stopped mid-sentence and told me it was illegal to drive barefoot.

I had to explain to him that operating a clutch in sandals has gone bad for me before (sandal got stuck on the brake pedal). He said the law was to ensure that I don't hurt my foot stepping on something sharp in the floor board and panic hitting other pedals or not being able to use the pedal. I calmly pointed to my bare feet on black asphalt in the afternoon Texas sun (probably in the neighborhood of 120F at the time), and said, "If this isn't bothering my feet, stepping on a sharp pebble isn't going to bother me." He grinned sheepishly and agreed. I think it helped that I was able to show him a very clean driver side floor board.

I still got a speeding ticket, but he didn't write me up for being barefoot