True Colors: How Car Color Affects Driving, Insurance, And Ticketing

Urban legends come to life when the truth becomes distorted. One person says one thing, then another alters it when they tell a friend, and so on. When it comes to the color of your car and how it relates to insurance prices, accident rate, and getting pulled over, the rumor mill has been especially busy. Learn the truth about what car color means for you here and now.

Red cars are pulled over more often: False

This is one of those fabrications that started out of thin air. There isn’t any scientific data proving that red cars are pulled over more or ticketed at a higher rate than cars of another color. The only reason we can see this myth gaining traction is because flashier colors usually come with sportier cars. And with sportier cars come faster speeds. And with faster speeds, come tickets. No matter what color car you drive, if you speed, you could get pulled over.

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Red cars are more expensive to insure: False

46 percent of 2,000 licensed drivers think it’s more expensive to insure a red car (because of their rate of being pulled over). The fact of the matter is, this just isn’t true. Insurance companies ask a lot of questions about the make and model of your car, but never about the color. If you’re in the habit of getting pulled over for speeding or other traffic infractions, your insurance rates will go up because of that—not because you have a red car.

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Certain color cars get into accidents more frequently: True

Australian researchers conducted a study in 2007 to see if certain car colors were more prone to getting in an accident. Their findings indicated the lowest accident rate in white cars and the highest in dark colors like black, gray, silver, and blue. Black cars had the highest accident rate—recording 12% more crashes than any other color car.

We’re pretty sure that these correlations have to do with visibility and not with the color of the car itself. White cars are easiest to see while darker colors tend to blend in—especially at night. Regardless, it’s an interesting piece of research that goes to show that car color can impact your safety on the road.