coalminer
New member
I've spent the last hour or so conducting a little online research. The information from the online helmet store was similiar to what I found at a lot of sites asking the question about helmet color. The other information was from a research site having to do with the Munsell Color System or some such.
From An Online Helmet Dealer:
Although black helmets are popular among motorcyclists, they offer the least visibility to motorists. A rider wearing a plain white helmet rather than a black one reduces his or her chance of collision by 24% because it is so much more visible ÔÇö day or night. Nevertheless, black helmets outsell white ones (photo, above) by 20:1. Helmets of other colors vary in the visibility they provide to motorists by where they fall on a scale from black to white.
From A Color Research Site:
Many auto accidents happen in early morning and late in the evening when it is dark outside. Does the vehicle color have anything to do with this? What automotive paint color is easiest for the eye to see when it is dark outside? How about in daylight? (895)
I have not seen any statistics correlating car color with accident rates. Accidents are not common enough and there are two many other variables involved to get the required statistics. However, there is little doubt that visibility is one important factor in automobile accidents (this has been shown for motorcycle accidents since they are often "not seen" by other drivers). The most visible car color (and motorcycle helmet color for that matter) is white in low light conditions. This is because it reflects the most light and normally contrasts the most with the background (a snowy background would be an exception where a black car might actually be more visible). In general white is also most visible in the daylight because it contrasts most with the typical background.
From An Online Helmet Dealer:
Although black helmets are popular among motorcyclists, they offer the least visibility to motorists. A rider wearing a plain white helmet rather than a black one reduces his or her chance of collision by 24% because it is so much more visible ÔÇö day or night. Nevertheless, black helmets outsell white ones (photo, above) by 20:1. Helmets of other colors vary in the visibility they provide to motorists by where they fall on a scale from black to white.
From A Color Research Site:
Many auto accidents happen in early morning and late in the evening when it is dark outside. Does the vehicle color have anything to do with this? What automotive paint color is easiest for the eye to see when it is dark outside? How about in daylight? (895)
I have not seen any statistics correlating car color with accident rates. Accidents are not common enough and there are two many other variables involved to get the required statistics. However, there is little doubt that visibility is one important factor in automobile accidents (this has been shown for motorcycle accidents since they are often "not seen" by other drivers). The most visible car color (and motorcycle helmet color for that matter) is white in low light conditions. This is because it reflects the most light and normally contrasts the most with the background (a snowy background would be an exception where a black car might actually be more visible). In general white is also most visible in the daylight because it contrasts most with the typical background.