Exactly. I don't mean to use a scare tactic, but imagine this. You're riding along at a "casual" pace. In the middle of a corner, you lose traction. For whatever reason, you lowside. Not at a fast pace, maybe 40mph. As you slide towards the outside of the road with your left (or right) leg on the ground, you leave the pavement and something, anything, catches your foot. Do you know what happens when you're sliding at 40mph wearing a lowtop tennis shoe and something catches your foot? It's not pretty. I spent a year in a major trauma center, a pre-medical student as a emergency tech, and I saw too many cruiser riders with nearly amputated feet. WEAR THE BOOTS. ALL THE TIME. Tib/fib fractures are horrible.