Choosing a Car Color? This One Is Safest
If you're in the market for a new car, choose one that is silver. Why? Silver cars are involved in far fewer crashes than cars of other colors.
According to a study by researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand that assessed the effect of car colors on the risk of serious injury in over 1,000 Auckland drivers between 1998-99, silver cars were 50 percent less likely to be involved in a crash resulting in a serious injury when compared with white cars.
Reuters reports that the least safe car colors are brown, black, and green. The risk factor for white, yellow, gray, red, and blue cars is in the middle range and about the same for each. Globally, about 3,000 people die every day in a car crash.
About half the drivers in this study had been involved in a crash in which one or more of the occupants had been admitted to the hospital or died, while 571 were not involved in crashes and served as a control group, reports Reuters. Even after taking into account the vehicle and road conditions, driver's age, gender, and educational level, as well as whether the driver had been using drugs or alcohol and had worn a seatbelt, the color of the car still had an impact on the likelihood of a crash.
Why? The researchers have no idea, but they speculate that silver, a light color that is highly reflective, may make cars more visible on the highway. "Increasing the proportion of silver cars could be an effective passive strategy to reduce the burden of injury from car crashes," lead study author Sue Furness told Reuters.
Silver was also the most popular car color in the United States, Europe, and Asia last year, according to the most recent DuPont Global Color Popularity.
The study findings were published in the British Medical Journal.
Thanks for reading NP
If you're in the market for a new car, choose one that is silver. Why? Silver cars are involved in far fewer crashes than cars of other colors.
According to a study by researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand that assessed the effect of car colors on the risk of serious injury in over 1,000 Auckland drivers between 1998-99, silver cars were 50 percent less likely to be involved in a crash resulting in a serious injury when compared with white cars.
Reuters reports that the least safe car colors are brown, black, and green. The risk factor for white, yellow, gray, red, and blue cars is in the middle range and about the same for each. Globally, about 3,000 people die every day in a car crash.
About half the drivers in this study had been involved in a crash in which one or more of the occupants had been admitted to the hospital or died, while 571 were not involved in crashes and served as a control group, reports Reuters. Even after taking into account the vehicle and road conditions, driver's age, gender, and educational level, as well as whether the driver had been using drugs or alcohol and had worn a seatbelt, the color of the car still had an impact on the likelihood of a crash.
Why? The researchers have no idea, but they speculate that silver, a light color that is highly reflective, may make cars more visible on the highway. "Increasing the proportion of silver cars could be an effective passive strategy to reduce the burden of injury from car crashes," lead study author Sue Furness told Reuters.
Silver was also the most popular car color in the United States, Europe, and Asia last year, according to the most recent DuPont Global Color Popularity.
The study findings were published in the British Medical Journal.
Thanks for reading NP
