High heels blamed for car crash

The French relationship with high heels has been called into question by a court ruling, which says they can be dangerous on the road. France's Supreme Court found high heels could prevent drivers from "executing conveniently and without delay all the necessary manoeuvres". Other habits -- smoking, listening to the radio and chatting -- were also denounced as hazardous by judge Laurence Flise in a written ruling made public yesterday.

The judgment came after an 11-year legal battle over a car crash that left a seven-year-old girl dead, three people seriously injured and seven more with minor injuries. The court found the driver's high-heeled sandals were a contributing factor after they got caught under the pedals.

The driver of a Daewoo, named as Dorothea Z-A, lost control of her car at Vignale in Corsica in August 2002 and skidded into a car coming the other way. She claimed damages for her injuries, scars and time off work. The Civil Court in Bastia, Corsica, upheld her case, awarding her E252,186 from Generali, the insurer of the car she hit. The city's Appeal Court overturned that decision in 2012, when it ruled Mrs Z-A had been at fault.

There were seven people in her car, although it only had room for five, including five children, none of whom had seatbelts or child seats. There was a dog in the back, and the boot was laden with shopping. The Appeal Court said that the overloading could have caused Mrs Z-A to lose control of her car, especially as she was wearing "high-heeled shoes which were stuck under the pedals; was listening to the radio; was talking with her passengers; and admitted that she sometimes smoked a cigarette".