What’s most important to you when you buy or lease a new car? Safety features and safety ratings are probably at the top of your list. One thing that you might not consider to be all that important is color. After all, color is just a detail, right? Not necessarily. Research suggests that certain color vehicles are more dangerous to drive than others. You might want to keep this in mind the next time you’re thinking about getting a new family car.

What is the Safest Color Car to Drive?

There are two schools of thought. Some studies suggest that yellow is, by far, the safest color car you can drive. It’s bright. It’s easy to see. It stands out against almost any background. If you think about it, there’s probably a reason why school buses are bright yellow.

Other research shows that white vehicles are your safest option. The reasoning is the same – white stands out and tends to be highly visible. That might be why a lot of ambulances and police cars are white – they’re easy to spot on the road.

What’s the Most Dangerous Color Car to Drive?

Multiple studies have concluded that black is the most dangerous color car you can drive. Black vehicles are involved in significantly more crashes than other color cars. Most researchers believe that this is likely due to the fact that black cars can be really tough to see.

Ranking the Most Dangerous Color Cars

After reviewing hundreds of thousands of crashes over more than two decades, researchers have determined that a car’s color might influence the likelihood of getting into a car accident. Here’s a ranking of car color and crash risk, beginning with the color that’s considered to be the most dangerous.

Black Cars

Of all the colors, black is considered to be the riskiest choice. Why? Research suggests that black vehicles are involved in accidents much more frequently than other color cars. During the day, black vehicles are associated with about a 12 percent increase in crash risk. At night, you’re about 47 percent more likely to get into an accident when you’re driving a black car.

Why are black cars more dangerous? They can be difficult to see, particularly at night. Black vehicles blend in easily, which might be why more and more police departments across the country are painting their patrol cars black.

Grey Cars

Grey cars are really popular – you see them everywhere. However, research shows that the risk of an accident increases by about 11 percent when you’re behind the wheel of a grey car.

Why? Grey cars aren’t all that easy to spot on the road. They can be tough to see, especially when it’s raining or cloudy.

Silver Cars

Research on silver cars is divided. Some researchers believe that silver cars are just about as dangerous as grey cars, exhibiting a 10 percent increase in crash risk. At least one study, however, found that silver cars might be one of your safer choices. In that study, researchers suggested that silver cars are 50 percent less likely to be in an accident than yellow ones.

Why would studies have such diverse findings? A lot of different factors could influence results – the shade of silver, whether the crashes were in rural or urban areas, or even the weather.

Blue Cars

Compared to other colors, blue cars tend to fall in the middle in terms of potential crash risk. They tend to be safer than the most dangerous colors, but riskier than the safest colors. Driving a blue car is associated with a 7 percent increase in crash risk.

A blue car’s crash risk might actually depend on the vehicle’s particular shade. Lighter blue cars might be more easily spotted. Darker colors might blend into the background or sky, making them tougher to see.

Red Cars

Red cars have gotten a bad rap over time. A lot of people avoid buying red color cars because they believe the police are more likely to stop you if you’re driving a red car. However, studies suggest that this isn’t necessarily true. White cars are actually stopped the most. If those same people are choosing black or dark cars over red, they might be forfeiting a little bit of safety.

Red cars, like blue ones, are in the middle of the pack. Driving a red car is associated with about a 7 percent increase in crash risk when compared to the safest colors.

Green Cars

Green cars are about as safe as it gets if you don’t want to drive a bright yellow or white car. Green cars aren’t really associated with a huge increase in crash risk. However, they’re not touted as the safest option because they can blend into the background under the right circumstances. This is particularly true if you drive in rural areas surrounded by grass or forest.

Gold Cars

You probably don’t see a lot of gold cars out on the road. However, gold might be a good choice if you’re interested in reducing your risk of getting into an accident. Gold stands out, so it’s highly visible.

Orange Cars

Orange cars aren’t too popular. However, it’s really easy to spot one when it’s on the road. That might be why orange cars are considered to be one of the safest choices.

White Cars

White cars are incredibly popular. One retailer revealed that white cars account for about 20 percent of all annual sales. For good reason. At least one study of accident crash data found that white cars tend to be involved in fewer crashes than other colors.

Yellow Cars

If you want to stand out and reduce the risk of getting into an accident, think about choosing a bright yellow car. At least one study found that yellow cars are associated with the lowest crash risk.

Other Factors Also Impact Crash Risk

It’s important to keep in mind that the color of your car is just one factor to consider. Buying a black car doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely get into an accident. At the same time, buying a white car or yellow car doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely avoid a crash. Several other factors can influence your risk of getting into an accident. These include:

Distracted Driving: Taking your eyes off the road while driving is one of the most dangerous things you can do. Distracted driving is a factor in about 25 percent of all fatal car accidents. For accidents involving teen drivers, distractions contribute to about 58 percent of those crashes.

Drunk Driving: Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is dangerous. The color of your car won’t really matter too much if you’re drunk. Drunk driving accounts for about one-third of all fatal car accidents in the United States every year.

Fatigued Driving: Some studies suggest that driving while tired is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than driving drunk.

Aggressive Driving Behaviors: You can significantly reduce the likelihood of an accident by obeying the law and driving safely. Unfortunately, not everyone is cautious behind the wheel. Aggressive driving behaviors, such as speeding, tailgating, and making unsafe turns, contribute to a staggering number of car accidents every year.

Other factors – such as hazardous weather, traffic, and road conditions – can also make an accident more likely.

Get Help From Our Miami, FL Auto Accident Lawyers

Even if you drive with caution and choose the safest color car, there’s still a chance you’ll get into a collision. If that happens to you and someone else is at least partly to blame, you may be entitled to compensation. The money you get can help with things like medical bills, lost wages, and even your pain and suffering.

The personal injury lawyers in Miami at Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer can help you fight to maximize your award. Give us a call today to schedule a free consultation and learn more.

Car Color & Crash Risk: What You Need to Know