DOES A COLOR OF A CAR DETERMINE A RISK FOR ACCIDENT?

kb9kbu

It can, darker colors are harder to see at night. Think of wearing a choice of dark colors or light color clothing at night, which will drivers see easier? The light colors,of course. Some colors "reflect" in the night when lights are on them. For night biking or walking it's best to wear that or stay in places that are lighted up, reflectors on bicycles. If on a bike, ride with the flow of traffic, day or night.
Riding against the flow of traffic can cause accidents. Bicyclists are suppose to follow the same rules of the road as motorized vehicles.
So in answer to your question, yes the color can.

Fast Reg

I don't believe so.

The colour conspicuity theme is interesting. As a biker and cyclist as well as a driver I have often pondered why it is that someone will look right at me and STILL pull across in front of me. I can only assume that they are looking for something in particular (e.g. another car, van or truck) and so they subconsciously discount everything else they see which causes them to make bad decisions. And this is despite wearing bright colours and having lights on.

A bright colour might thought to be a great help for visibility, but it won't always be at all times. It all depends on what sort of background you are seeing it against. Despatch riders in London generally wear black and ride dark coloured bikes. This actually works great in that environment because the city is always well lit, so a black bike and rider has good contrast against a lit background. Conversely they almost completely disappear into the murk when they venture out of town after dark because that contrast between their colour and the background is now gone. Equally, I used to regularly be passed by a biker dressed all in yellow riding a yellow Suzuki SV650. On a bright morning and against a bright background he would be hard to pick out.

However, the real determining factor in determining risk is how you drive your car rather than the colour it is painted. Assume nothing, don't be tempted to go for half chances and always have an escape route or strategy in case things go wrong. A driver in a yellow car who does not use any defensive driving strategies is going to be more at risk of an accident than the driver who drives a grey car defensively.

Just an aside:

As Benjamin Disraeli said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics". I have often found that the old boy is proved right time and again. In this case, I wonder if the figures of accidents broken down in car colours are hiding other potential contributory factors that might have more influence. For example, what is the typical demographic of drivers of cars in each colour? Given that brown has not been a popular colour for quite a while now, what is the typical age of these vehicles in each group and what safety features would they likely be carrying?

Taylor S

yes! my mom asked around and it turns out that green cars get hit by deer more than any other car of a different color, cuz they think it's part of the forest. So don't get a green car! if u already have 1, paint it a diff. color

UCANTCME

A recent study showed the following.........

Drivers of brown cars had the highest risk of sustaining serious injuries caused by auto accidents.

Black and green cars also had elevated risks.

Drivers of silver-colored cars, according to the report, have a 50% less chance of being involved in an injury-causing accident than do drivers of white cars!

Mr.D

i think it can.

say a black car and a yellow car, black cars would be wayyy harder to see, day or night. a yellow car would be brighter and easier to see.

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