The Safe Driver

Does colour matter?

I had recently been sent an e-mail from a former student of mine who had recently got her driver’s license. She wanted to buy a new vehicle and had asked me which colour of vehicle she should avoid buying. I explained to her that, although silver and grey are very popular vehicle colours; they can blend into the background quite easily on a dull day. Have you thought about vehicle colours when you’re buying a vehicle?

There was a thought years ago that red cars were targeted by insurance companies as risky vehicles to drive and therefore were higher in insurance costs. I’ve owned a few red vehicles over the past 20 years and haven’t found that to be the case. Red stands out in traffic and helps other drivers see you. Yellow also does the same thing. Bright colours have a better chance to be noticed by drivers and pedestrians.

My brother owned two white cars back to back and his cars always looked dirty. The same can be said for black vehicles. The mud and dirt stands out on vehicles like that and scratches can be easily seen on black vehicles. So, which colours are best for the consumer?

I had a 1975 Chevy Nova many years ago that was a brownish colour, but when the sun hit it in a strange angle, it appeared to have a pink tint to it. I’ve never driven a vehicle that was an attention getter, except for a bright yellow Mustang convertible. However, THIS vehicle would surely be noticed in traffic, don’t you think? It can’t help but stand out from the other vehicles.

At Young Drivers of Canada, we’ve taught our students to drive with their low beam headlights on for over 25 years. The reason was to allow us to be noticed by other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Having a unique coloured vehicle would also help others see you, but would you drive this car? I’d have to seriously think about that one.