A first count of colours involved in car crashes was carried out in 1968 and was published in AA's 'Drive'. As might be expected Blue was the colour proportionately most involved in accidents, and there are good optical reasons for this. Blue rays come to a focus infront of the retina of the eye, and in order to see them clearly one has to change the shape of ones lens in the same was as one does when one looks at something further away (a fact popularised by the scientist Herman Helmholst in the last century - See Optical Illusions). This means that when overtaking a blue car, it is likely to appear to be several centimetres further away than it actually is. Similarly, the two blue cars that you park between will be several millimetres nearer than you think.

The colours of cars least involved in accidents were the reds and the yellows, in spite of the fact that more drivers who are subject to road-rage are likely to have chosen the red car. White also had a reasonably good record.

By contrast, green had an unexpectedly high accident count. Perhaps, green presents a deceptively safe and static environmental image that one associates more with landscape than fast-moving traffic.

Black, on the other hand, had a better record than one might have expected. Seen against a light background, black can be very conspicuous.

The colours of cars dangerously prone to accidents are, after blue, those that do not show up well, such as grey and green. The subtle and subdued colours may be very prestigious and classy but tend to merge into the townscape or become inconspicuous in the fast lane.

Statistics were not given for the different shades of the hues, but it can be assumed that the lighter, more intense and more visible hues will be less accident-prone. Below is a table of the percentage of cars of the different colours involved in accidents.