Bright or light colored vehicles are sometimes regarded as safer because they are presumably more visible. This study examined the effect of vehicle color on the risk of being passively involved in a collision. A paired case study used data from the Spanish database of traffic crashes. Collisions from 1993 to 1999 were selected in which only one of the drivers committed an infraction. The violators constituted the control group; the other drivers formed the case group. Information about the color of the vehicle and other confounding variables was also collected. When white was compared with the remaining colors, a protective estimate was obtained. The results were similar for light colors compared with all remaining colors. The protective effect of light colors was specifically observed for open roads and under daylight conditions. It was stronger in conditions other than good weather than in good weather conditions.
Abstract