Researchers have combed the records of millions of crash cases involving both commercial vehicles and personal ones across the world and the verdict is finally in. If you have a choice, you may want to choose to ride in a taxi that’s yellow, according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
After ruling out driver errors like speed, car model difference and maintenance issues, researchers determined that accident rates among yellow cabs is far lower than that of blue ones. In fact, in studying the records of one of the biggest taxi companies in the world, they found that the crash rates of blue taxis was at least 9 percent higher than that of yellow ones.
A driver’s increased visibility of the color yellow, they found, was critical in helping drivers avoid crashing into a vehicle’s rear end. This groundbreaking research is the first of its kind to connect the color of cars as having a direct ability to reduce car crash rates.
To put the findings in perspective, the researchers said to take the example of a taxi company that has a fleet of as much as 12,525 that are blue. They argue that, if that company, were to paint all their vehicles yellow instead, then there would be at least 76 less accidents on a monthly basis. This equates to a reduction in 917 accidents during a single calendar year.
As for why many cabs are yellow, it has to do with the fact that in 1907, most, if not all, cars were black at the time. It was then that the ownership of the popular Chicago Yellow Cab Company decided it would make it easier to see taxis coming if they were painted a different color from the rest of the vehicles out on the road.
Yellow was the color they chose to ensure they’d stand out. Little would they have known at the time how beneficial their color choice would turn out to be.
If you’ve been injured in an accident while taking for-hire transportation, then you may benefit from discussing potential remedies available for you to pursue with a South Daytona commercial vehicle accident attorney.
Source: USA Today, “You’re less likely to get in an accident in a taxi if it’s yellow, study finds,” Doyle Rice, accessed Sep. 01, 2017