What color motorcycle is the safest?

When choosing a motorcycle, one of the factors to consider is color. Not only do you want a color that you will enjoy - but also, what color is going to make you more visible?

Several studies have been conducted on the subject such as "Colours and visibility. New Zealand Road Safety", "Does vehicle color influence the risk of being passively involved in a collision?" and "Colour choice can be crucial. Road Ahead" - however, as you may have guessed, they are all studies based on car colors.

None-the-least, we can still draw from some of their findings and use them as tools when deciding on the safest color of motorcycle.

Many of the points in each of the studies contradict each other. Some studies found gray to be the safest color, while others found it to be near the worst color for visibility, second only to black. Another study found white to be near-invisible to drivers during inclement weather, while another paper stated white to be the safest but during clear weather.

How can we make sense of all of these contradictions? Despite all of the opposing views of color there has been some common ground established:

• White is the most visible color during uniform lighting.
• Black is the least visible color (regardless of lighting conditions).
• Lime-green has been shown to be provide excellent visibility in all color conditions. Hence safety vests, and fire trucks being painted in this new color in recent years.
• Colors that blend in with the surrounds make a vehicle less visible.
• Bright colors closest to the center of the color spectrum are generally easier to see than darker colors. (pictured below)

We can conclude that black is the hardest color to see - and perhaps we are not too fond of white or yellow - what are your options? - Mix it up!

Many bikes, particularly sport bikes, are covered with a myriad of bright vibrant colors. Having multiple colors increases the range of conditions that you can be seen in.

There are also electrifying LED lighting kits you can get for your motorcycle to light up and showcase your bike at night. These kits come in primarily bright neon lights, such as electric blue, fire red, and traffic light green.

Whatever color you choose, or however you decide to showcase your bike - make sure it's in the colors you enjoy.

Ride safe!