What Car Colours You Should Avoid According To Studies

In the automotive world, colour is an effective way of showing the personal style of the owner. Carmakers utilize colours as a way to attract customers. You can possibly find every colour in the automotive market. The wide variety of colours means that the customers have more freedom over their buying decision. However, on the other hand, the more colour options, the harder the decision-making process is.

Choosing a car colour is a tough decision

Besides personal preference, car buyers also have to take into consideration other factors when it comes to choosing the car colour. Safety is one crucial criterion in the colour picking process. Based on the past studies and data, IndianAuto will give you the list of car colours to avoid as well as colours that might guarantee better safety for your vehicle.

The relation between car colour and vehicle safety is not necessarily a hard truth that is applied in every case. However, according to research done by Monash University, there is a clear association between the colour option and the accident rate. As per this study, certain car colours are more likely to be involved in car accidents than others.

1. Dangerous car colours - Car Colors To Avoid

1.1. Black

In the study conducted by Monash University, black is the most dangerous colour with the highest accident rate. Vehicles with the black exterior are 12 per cent more likely to get into car accidents than white cars which are believed to be the most safety car choice. The black cars are less visible especially during the night time, which might be the explanation for the black car’s higher risk on road.

Black is the most dangerous car colour

1.2. Grey and Silver

Grey and silvers are two popular car choices. Unfortunately, these two colour options also show a correlation with a higher possibility of having a car crash. As per the above study, the grey and silver cars are 11 per cent and 10 per cent more likely to have a car crash than the safest colour, respectively.

Visibility is also the main factor contributing to unwanted correlation. Apparently, grey and silver cars cannot really stand out from the grey-ish background of the road facility, which makes it less visible in the eyes of the car drivers.

Grey and silver cars can easily blend with the background

1.3. Blue

Blue is also among the most common car choices in the market. Vehicles with blue paint are less likely to have car accidents than black, grey and silver cars. However, compared to white, the safety car colour, blue stands a 7 per cent higher chance of being in a car crash. Moreover, studies also found out that cars with brighter blue are less dangerous than those painted in darker shades of blue. It is possible because the blue colour often blends with the colour of the daytime sky, which might make it harder for the drivers to spot blue cars from afar. Dark blue car, in particular, can look almost black under the low-light condition.

Sometimes it's hard to distinguish a blue car from the sky colour

1.4. Red

Visibility of the exterior colour has been mentioned as the crucial factor affecting the safety of the vehicle. Apparently, the higher visible the colour of a car is, the smaller chance of car accidents is. However, this conclusion might not be right in the case of red coloured vehicles. Admittedly, red colours look vibrant. However, studies found that red cars have a higher risker of getting involved in a car accident.

Red is a popular car choice but is also among the most dangerous car colours, according to studies

It is safe to say that red colour can stick out under the rainy, foggy or snowy weather. However, under the nighttime condition, red does not look as bright as other colours. Red colour can also fuse with the traffic lights, brake lights and other types of street lights, which is why drive might have a hard time to distinguish a red car from the background.

1.5. Green

Just like red, green is a bright and vibrant colour. Still, studies show that green is not as safe as you think it is, considering that green can be blend with the colours of trees, grass, traffic lights, for example. Especially when you drive in the open spaces where there is a lot of green in the background, it will be hard to tell the green vehicle from what is on the backdrop.

Green cars are not as safe as they seem

2. Safer colour choices for cars

2.1. White

As mentioned above, white is considered the safest colour choice for cars. White coloured car is highly visible in the different driving conditions, night time or day time, city or highway. The white cars are most likely to pop out from the background.

According to many studies, white is the safest car colour

2.2. Yellow

Yellow is a bright colour that easily stands out in different driving conditions, just like the white colour. There is a good reason why yellow is used for many public transport vehicles as well as cabs. Lime is also a popular choice for public transportation.

Yellow is a popular colour for public transportation cars for a reason

Gold, orange, lime, beige/cream are some other car colours that can be considered safe colour choice.

Other factors that might matter...

Apart from the safety reason, there are also other factors you should consider when choosing the colour of your car.

• Car theft – Since cars with unique or less common colours have lower resale prices, thieves are less likely to target these cars. Also, a car with unique colour can be a dead giveaway, which is not at car thieves’ preference.

• Car temperature – It is widely known that subject with dark colour tends to absorb the sunlight. Especially in a country with hot weather like India, keeping car temperature cool is considered a very important concern for car buyers. So white and other light colours might be a good option for car buyers in India if considering the temperature factor.

• Traffic penalty - Another popular belief is that cars with outstanding and vibrant colour can attract the attention of the cops and are more likely to be stopped by the traffic police officers. If it’s true, you should stay clear away from brightly-coloured cars.

• Maintenance – Another practical aspect of car colour that you should also pay attention to the maintenance work required. On darker car paint, the blemish and dirt look every noticeable, which requires more frequent car wash to keep the car look clean. Brighter colours will save you a lot of effort in cleaning your car.

• Resale value – As mentioned above, vehicles with popular car colours will have better resale values. In India, white is currently the most chose car colours. Grey, silver, red and blue follows in the popularity ranking in the car market.