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If you’re an active driver, you probably know that certain factors can come into play that might cause a car wreck. You also probably know to avoid various activities that increase the chances an accident might happen. You might tailor your driving behavior to prevent collisions, and likely, your family members and friends respect you for it.
For instance, if you know 16.8% of car wrecks happen between 9 pm and 5 am, you might avoid driving at night for that reason. If you understand that drinking alcohol and driving aren’t safe, you might not do that either. You can appoint a designated driver if you are going to drink, or you might grab a taxi home instead.
However, many drivers don’t realize there’s a factor that can impact their car wreck chances, and it’s not a very obvious one. Strange as it sounds, the color of the car you drive might lower or raise your car accident chances, and some studies back that up. We will explore that concept in more detail right now.
Dark-Colored Cars
Logically, you can’t see dark-colored cars as well if you encounter one while driving at night. Every vehicle driver knows they should turn on their headlights starting at dusk and continuing till dawn, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all of them do it. You can find irresponsible drivers everywhere, and not turning on their headlights isn’t by any means the worst activity in which they might engage.
If there’s a black or dark blue car near you at dusk or after nightfall, and they don’t have their lights on, you can easily hit them. If you do, you can usually blame the other driver since they didn’t turn on their lights.
However, you might consider these situations when you decide which car color you’ll get. Other drivers can see light-colored cars better at night, so maybe you’ll make a decision based partially on that.
Light-Colored Cars
Light-colored cars have their drawbacks, though. For instance, if you get a white or light gray vehicle, other drivers can’t often see you as clearly during snowstorms. Even with your lights on, in the driving snow, a white or light gray car can easily disappear into the background. You might think about that if you live in a city or part of the country where snowstorms happen frequently in the winter.
Light-colored cars don’t do so well in the rain, either. During severe rainstorms, a light-colored vehicle isn’t as visible as a dark-colored one. In foggy or misty conditions, the same rule applies. This complicates matters, since you have certain situations where dark-colored cars do better, and others where light-colored ones seem more beneficial.
What the Stats Say
Two major studies took place that looked into car color and crash stats. Neither took place in the US, but both happened in first-world countries. One such study occurred in Melbourne, Australia. This study concluded that five colors impacted driving stats more than all others. Gray, red, silver, blue, and green cars impacted driving stats the most.
All five colors had more car wrecks than those not on the list. Interestingly, silver and gray cars had more wrecks than any others. You can certainly speculate about why that’s the case. The stats do have significance, though, as silver and gray cars had a 10-11% higher chance of getting into accidents.
Another study happened in the late 90s in New Zealand. This one found that three colors increased car crash risk. Brown, green, and black made up this list, while gray and silver cars crashed much less.
This means the studies had directly contradictory conclusions. You can speculate further based on these findings, but one thing seems clear. No matter what color car you drive, an accident can always happen, and that’s just a reality when you’re a motorist.
What Color Car Should You Get?
If you like a particular car color, you might go ahead and get it, regardless of car accident stats having to do with color. If you have your heart set on a red car, for instance, you could just buy one and hope for the best. After all, while color can play a part in why a driver hit you, it’s not the most frequent deciding factor.
You might simply think about situations where light or dark-colored cars don’t do as well and stay off the road during those times or in those conditions whenever you can. For example, if you have a white car, and you understand they do not show up as well in the heavy snow, you can stay off the road if you know there’s a blizzard coming. If you have a black or dark blue vehicle, you can avoid driving at night when other cars might not see you as well.
You might also get a color that stands out so much it draws the eye. An unusual color like purple or light green stands out. It’s not likely another driver won’t see it if you have at least decent driving conditions. You can also pick your car out in the parking lot quite easily if you frequently can’t remember where you parked. An unusual color also makes you stand out as an individual with distinct tastes.
Since the two most prominent studies did not reveal the same data, you can probably buy a car confidently regardless of color. More so than what color car you get, the conditions you drive in probably matter more.If you’re in a car accident, finding a skilled lawyer probably makes sense if you can’t get the financial compensation you feel you’re due. You can blame car color or not, but if you’re sure you didn’t cause the wreck, getting money to cover your medical bills and any wages you lost while you couldn’t work becomes necessary. That’s the biggest takeaway since the studies couldn’t reach a conclusive verdict about car color risks.