[anjan_c2007]

The colour yellow is the safest under all weather conditions. Research findings by several researchers worldwide have found that under the most adverse weather conditions, visibility of the colour yellow is the best for the oncoming traffic, especially under rainy and foggy conditions.

School buses in the U.S. are compulsorily painted yellow. In some states in US, the fire tenders are painted in yellow for better visibility.

Among the research findings here is one where the same assertion is evident.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...olor-taxi.html

A link between the color of a taxi and how often it gets into accidents has been found in a new study.

Yellow taxis were 9 per cent less likely to be involved in accidents than blue ones, an analysis of taxi and accident data in Singapore revealed.

The higher visibility of yellow makes it easier for drivers to avoid getting into accidents with yellow taxis, so yellow taxis have a lower accident rate.

This means that over the course of 40 years, a passenger will experience 1.1 accidents in a blue taxi compared to 1 accident in a yellow taxi.

Another link for the safer car colours:-

https://www.cartoq.com/which-car-col...afest-for-you/

Research at the University of California has thrown up that either bright blue or bright yellow are the best colours for car safety. Bright blue shows up best in daytime running, while yellow is visible even at night and in foggy weather. According to research, the worst colour for a car is grey, as it tends to blend in with the road and scenery.

The moot point is that since yellow coloured cars or two wheelers are the least preferred by private users in India, we could opt for yellow graphics in helmets to aid better visibility to oncoming vehicles for safety reasons. Upon perusing the huge array of Indian and imported helmets available in India through e-commerce portals and brick and mortar stores, the shade yellow was found by me to be scarce. Leave alone a fully yellow coloured helmet that could look odd, even yellow graphics in some other colour backgrounds are very, very tough to locate among the list of available helmets of a multitude of makes. The nearest to yellow one can come to is the shade radium green or fluorescent green.

The helmet makers would do well by offering yellow graphics and buyers also are suggested to look out for this shade, as it is a life saver.

[anjan_c2007]

There is yet another link echoing such a view regarding more visible colours :-

https://www.hupy.com/library/easiest...n-the-rain.cfm

BEST Car Colors:
White, yellow, orange – In 2013, white was the world's most popular car color. At night, white is the most visible, but the study also noted that a lime-yellow stands out better against cloudy skies and snowy backdrops than white does.

Other eye-catching colors like bright orange or lime green are also more visible in rainy conditions and are frequently suggested as the optimal safety-gear colors for making motorcycle riders more visible.

WORST Car Colors:
Red, black, gray – At night, people often perceive the color red as black, and humans tend to have particularly poor peripheral detection of red shades. A study even noted that emergency vehicles such as firetrucks should consider changing vehicle colors to shades of yellow and white. Black cars had the worst record for passive involvement in crashes, and gray vehicles were described as significantly difficult to see in rainy and snowy conditions.

Although the most visible car would seem to be the safest, whichever car you’re driving, YOU are the biggest factor for arriving safely at your destination. It is important that you be proactive by remaining extra alert in poor weather conditions and choosing to never drive distracted. Turn your headlights on at dusk and dawn. When it’s foggy, raining or snowing, turn on your running or fog lights.

Another link below lists white as the safest followed by yellow, then orange and next gold, among the safer shades. It also says that one study has ranked yellow as safer than white.

The link:-

https://www.victimslawyer.com/blog/w...ost-accidents/

[RedTerrano]

I am confused.

What percent accidents happen because the target vehicle was not visible and what percent happen because the driver could not control the source vehicle?
Are there any numbers available to indicate this?

In my ~30 years of driving I have caused accident's twice. Both on bikes.

First was when a dude stepped right in front of me, from behind a parked truck. I was in 2nd gear, on the verge of joining the highway. My speed was definitely sub 20 KMPH.

Second was when I tried to overtake a slow moving truck on a rural road. From the left. To my horror the truck turned left and despite me slamming on the brakes (both read and front) I slammed into it. I was definitely doing ~80. I never ride without a helmet and that's why I am here, telling you about how stupid I was that one time.
Normally I am a very safe driver. God knows what I was thinking that time to be so stupid.

In the first case, in all honesty I never saw the dude. The truck was parked at a corner and my eyes were on the right since I needed to cross and join the highway.

In the second case, I definitely saw the truck. And I still managed to collide, purely because of my foolishness.

[TrackDay]

Image source : google images

The color yellow is widely used in most safety markings and boards due to this very reason. In fact one can see commercial vehicles such as buses, lorries, taxis, pickups etc. pasted with small portions of reflective 3M yellow tapes on their sides. At least this is what I have observed here in Kerala. However when it comes to private cars, I am pretty sure most folk would prefer the least visible color - black. The only reason most avoid it is due to the regular cleaning / heat absorption it attracts. Yellow is also most likely to look cool on expensive rides such as Lamborghinis.

[IamNikhil]

Have started seeing a lot of commercial vehicles opt for the yellow 3M reflective stickers/tape recently. Personally, have always opted for and even in the future opt for White/Silver/Champagne as the colour of the car. It's quite amusing to see a few yellow 1st gen- Altos on the road randomly; not many car brands even have yellow as a choice!

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by TrackDay

Attachment 2183702
Image source : google images

The color yellow is widely used in most safety markings and boards due to this very reason. In fact one can see commercial vehicles such as buses, lorries, taxis, pickups etc. pasted with small portions of reflective 3M yellow tapes on their sides. At least this is what I have observed here in Kerala. However when it comes to private cars, I am pretty sure most folk would prefer the least visible color - black. The only reason most avoid it is due to the regular cleaning / heat absorption it attracts. Yellow is also most likely to look cool on expensive rides such as Lamborghinis.

In fact, in some southern states like A.P. (A.P. and Telangana), Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the front and rear of commercial vehicles, especially HCV's were required to be painted yellow mandatorily by the state transport authorities since the 1970's, for prominence and better visibility to the oncoming traffic. I am not sure as to whether the same practice continues in all these states too or not? Three wheelers (autorickshaws) as commercial vehicles in A.P. and Telangana are painted fully in yellow.

In Maharashtra, school buses have to be compulsorily painted in yellow with warning signs. The larger buses as well as the smaller Maruti Omnis/Mahindra Maxximo/ Supro mini vans/buses are all painted in yellow.

Yes, in fact the yellow reflective tapes are being increasingly used in commercial vehicles for whose yearly passing (fitness) such tapes in the front, back and sides in specified lengths are necessary.

Lambos, Mustangs and quite a few more also offer shades of yellow.

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

It's quite amusing to see a few yellow 1st gen- Altos on the road randomly; not many car brands even have yellow as a choice!

In fact, quite a few automobile makers still offer the choice of yellow as a factory shade. The new Vespa scooters have such a light yellow shade that is quite popular too ! Even the Honda Navi presently offers a factory yellow colour. The Hero Honda Ambition was popular with its yellow shade. Bajajs, Mahindra jeeps and the Premier Padminis offered lighter yellow shades that sold well.

Yes, the Alto and the old Zen too offered the yellow shade. In fact, the Maruti 800 in 1998 offered such a shade. There used to be waiting lists of about 3-4 months. A friend had asked for the Francois White shade. But the waiting was enhanced by one or two more months. He was restless and visited the showroom. A yellow M800 was parked in the showroom space. Seeing him frustrated with the now increased waiting period, the dealer's SA offered him the yellow M800 immediately. When asked why, the dealer's SA said it is not being preferred by any customer in this shade. He stayed away from the yellow and got his M800 in white with the delayed waiting period.

[Mortis]

I also read a story that while black/grey/blue are the least visible at night, somehow RED cars have the highest percentage of accidents. Maybe it's because red is the most common colour for sporty cars and are therefore the most likely to be driven fast and rashly increasing their chances of having an accident.