Believe it or not, the color of your car can impact your safety on the road. Studies have shown that certain car colors are more strongly associated with accident risk than others, primarily due to visibility factors. This can be challenging information to grapple with if you are drawn to popular car colors that also happen to be dangerous.
While car color alone won’t cause a crash, it can affect how easily other drivers see your vehicle, especially in poor lighting or weather conditions. To that end, it is possible that your car color is, indeed, placing you in greater danger than you might otherwise be.
High-risk car colors
Research consistently shows that black cars are associated with the highest accident rates, followed closely by grey, silver and blue vehicles. Black cars are difficult to see in low-light conditions, including dusk, dawn and nighttime, making them more susceptible to being overlooked by other drivers. Grey and silver cars can blend into the surroundings, particularly in rainy or foggy weather, where they may fade into the environment, reducing their visibility. Blue cars may also be less noticeable, especially in low light or when they blend with the blue and grey hues of the sky or the road.
On the other hand, brighter colors like white, yellow and orange tend to be associated with lower accident rates. White cars, in particular, are considered the safest because they provide a stark contrast against most backgrounds and are easily visible in both daylight and nighttime conditions. Yellow and orange cars also tend to stand out, reducing the likelihood of an accident due to poor visibility.
The concept of “conspicuity” refers to how noticeable an object is in its environment. Vehicles with high conspicuity are less likely to be involved in accidents because other drivers can more easily detect them, allowing for better reaction times. In situations where drivers have only a split second to react, a highly visible car color can play a part in whether the scenario ends in an accident or a near-miss.