Car accidents happen for many reasons, including road conditions, visibility, and driving behaviors. It only seems logical that there may also be a link between car color & crash risk in San Diego, CA. However, studies have reached conflicting conclusions.
In an attempt to deflect liability from their careless actions, the at-fault driver could raise the argument that your car was difficult to see. A car accident attorney from Pines Salomon Personal Injury Lawyers helps you overcome this argument so the insurer or jury imposes blame on the driver rather than your car color. To date, we’ve won over $100 million for our clients.
Contact us today at (858) 551-2090 to learn more about your legal rights and options following a car accident. We offer a free consultation.
How Pines Salomon Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You Recover Compensation After a Car Crash in San Diego, CA
Pines Salomon Personal Injury Lawyers was founded over 30 years ago to serve injured people in San Diego, California, in their fight for compensation. Our San Diego car accident lawyers have over 80 years of combined legal experience, and our founder is a former insurance defense attorney. We use our knowledge and experience to stand up to insurers and at-fault parties on behalf of our clients.
We provide the following legal services after you suffer an injury in an accident:
- Assessing your situation and identifying the possible legal claims you can assert
- Gathering evidence and preparing a claim for the at-fault party’s insurer
- Working diligently to overcome denials and negotiate a settlement
- Filing a lawsuit if the settlement negotiations fail
A car accident claim can require legal knowledge and skills, particularly when the other driver tries to shift the blame to you. Contact our law offices in San Diego today to get started with your case.
Car Color And Crash Risk
Logically, you can envision scenarios in which the color of a car might affect its visibility. For example, crashes involving black cars might be more likely when driving at night because they might be less visible.
However, the studies looking at car color and crash risk go beyond specific lighting or visibility conditions. Instead, they have attempted to determine whether certain car colors are always more prone to collisions than others. These studies control for other factors such as driver age, lighting, and weather to isolate color and its effect on crash rates.
Early Studies
Two of the earliest and most influential studies about car color and crash risk came from New Zealand and Australia. The earlier study was conducted at the University of Auckland and looked at car crash records over 14 months to determine the role of car color.
After controlling for factors such as the time of day of the crash and whether the driver had used drugs or alcohol, the study determined the relative crash risks of the following colors:
- White
- Yellow
- Grey
- Black
- Blue
- Red
- Green
- Brown
- Silver
This study concluded that silver cars were 50% less likely to be involved in injury crashes than white cars. The study found elevated risks for yellow, black, and brown cars, but the increased risk was not statistically significant.
The second study was conducted at Monash University in Australia. This study used a much larger sample of over 850,000 crashes spanning 22 years. Using this huge dataset, the researchers identified a statistically significant increase in crash risk for the following car colors:
- Blue
- Green
- Gray
- Red
- Silver
In direct opposition to the University of Auckland study, the Monash University study found that silver cars were the most likely cars to be involved in a crash. Moreover, comparing the lists of colors identified as risky, you will find no overlap between the two studies.
More Recent Studies
In 2019, a study at the University of Dayton acknowledged the contradictory results of the prior research and conducted an independent analysis of nearly 950,000 cases gathered from Ohio crash records between 2011 and 2015.
Using a different statistical analysis than either the University of Auckland or Monash University models, the University of Dayton researchers found no statistical connection between car color and crash risk under all conditions. In other words, the study found that no color is always more dangerous. Instead, when averaged across all conditions, all colors have the same risk.
Liability for Crashes in Adverse Lighting Conditions
Importantly, this study does not mean that color plays no role in crashes. A silver car might be more visible at night but disappear in the fog.
However, these arguments do not necessarily absolve a driver of liability for a crash. Drivers have a legal duty to drive safely in all conditions. The driver must slow down and exercise extra caution in poor visibility. This failure often plays a greater role than your car’s color when someone hits you.
Contact Our San Diego Car Accident Attorneys for a Free Consultation
When you suffer an injury in a car crash, you deserve the maximum amount of compensation available under the law. Contact Pines Salomon Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss how we can help you pursue fair compensation for your injuries. Our San Diego car accident attorneys work on contingency, so we only get paid if we successfully handle your case.
Our legal team handles all types of car accidents, including:
- Airbag Injuries
- Distracted Driving Accidents
- Drunk Driving Accidents
- Head-on Crashes
- Hit and Run Accidents
- and more.
