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[GtreetSlide]

  GtreetSlide,

     Pardon me for doubing the "study" you cite, so I checked.  Consider the James Dean Porsche Speedster (silver).  Silver blends in too much.  Most new fire and emergency vehicles come in yellow or lime for better night time visibility. YET:  In 2004, team of New Zealand epidemiologists has published a two-year study of crash data compiled in their homeland, and the results say occupants of silver cars are less likely to be involved in injury accidents than those riding in cars of another color.

     The British Medical Journal reported, silver cars were 60 percent less likely to be involved in a serious injury than the control group--white cars. Even when the adjustments for confounding variables were removed from the data, silver cars were still 50 percent less likely to be involved in a serious injury accident than white.  (http://www.drivers.com/article/707/)     

     On the other hand:   See, (http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/fascinating-facts/safe-vehicle-colours.html)  Studies in the United States found that US Postal vehicles painted red, white and blue were involved in 27% fewer crashes than postal vehicles painted drab olive. The red, white and blue vehicles were involved in 622 crashes while the olive vehicles were involved in 849 crashes.

     Daimler-Benz undertook research (before flourescent paints were used) that concluded that white was the easiest colour to be seen. White rated 86% in their tests while black, dark red and dark blue rated 4%.

     Many people think that particular colours are safer because they are more visible but it isn’t as simple as that.  The visibility of cars depends on the weather, road conditions the landscape and the time of day.  Generally bright and brilliant colours are much better than dark colours because they reflect a lot more light and can be seen from up to four times the distance of vehicles painted a dark colour.

     The US National Safety Council defined the safest colour as "one that is highly visible in the widest range of lighting, weather and vision conditions."  The Safety Council noted that white is the most visible colour in uniform lighting, but it has low visibility on a light coloured road in bright sunlight and in snow and fog.

     A University of California study3 found that the colour of an approaching car influences the driver’s judgement about how far away it is. Blue and yellow made distant objects seem closest. The grey shades made objects seem further away.

Colours of cars registered in New Zealand in 2004:
White   453,585 
Blue     451,659 
Red      405,943
Silver   306,020 
Green   306,020 
Grey    233,502 
Black   139,662
Gold    73,091 
Brown  60,927 
Yellow  23,719 
Purple  23,666 
Cream  17,248 
Orange  8,665 
Pink      8,345 
Total 2,576,249

Research has also shown that:
Red cars are more likely to be found exceeding the speed limit
Australians prefer white cars
Silver cars hide the most dirt and red cars show the most dirt
Silver is a popular colour in Germany
Cars painted in metallic paint often cost more because metallic paint is harder to match when a car is being repaired.
Black cars are not popular in hot climates
White is considered a sensible car colour and is often used for fleet cars
Porche made blue cars because they stood out in the European winters
The latest fashion is "Harlequin" paint that changes shade depending on the light and the angle of viewing. It costs $1200 per litre.

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Great reply, Greg.

You just say that because yours is Orange...

[sem_bunda]

Greg, IMO any "study" that uses an extra letter in a word (i.e., colour) probably was done across the pond.  Since they drive on the wrong side of the road over there, those results are probably the opposite here in the US of A.   

[Big-T]

Greg, IMO any "study" that uses an extra letter in a word (i.e., colour) probably was done across the pond.  Since they drive on the wrong side of the road over there, those results are probably the opposite here in the US of A.   

You're probably right. I never thought of that. T.