On behalf of Marquardt & Belmonte, P.C. posted in Car Accidents on Friday, February 24, 2017.
A ton of factors contribute to car accidents, such as speed, driver inexperience, drug and alcohol use, distraction and aggressive driving. One that you may not have considered before, though, is the color of the car itself.
One study, which looked at data over a span of 20 years, determined which color car crashed most often. According to the research, a black car is as much as 47 percent more likely to crash than another color.
This doesn't mean that people who drive black cars are also more dangerous. The study cited low visibility, especially at dusk and dawn, as a big part of the reason.
For example, a driver in a black car may be driving through an intersection controlled by a yield sign, heading to work in the early morning hours. A driver coming along the perpendicular street sees the yield sign and checks to see if there's any traffic to yield to. He never sees the black car, slows down only slightly and drives out into that car's path. Had it been red or white, he would have seen it and stopped, but the color itself caused the accident.
The study showed that time of day played a big role, but black cars are always more likely to crash. Even during the day, the odds of a crash are about 12 percent higher than they are for white cars.
Of course, even if you're driving a black car, other drivers have an obligation to drive safely. Claiming they didn't see your car doesn't mean they weren't at fault. If you're injured or a loved one is killed, you may be able to seek compensation.
Source: Reference, "Q: What color car has the most accidents?," accessed Feb. 24, 2017
