noel.arbuthnot

You are busy walking in a park chatting away with your mates, when during a stride you feel a slushy lump under your shoe. You instantly recognise the feeling, and then the distinct smell that follows. You know very well that you stepped into a warm chunky 'present' left by a stray fury mongrel! I bet this has happened to almost everyone at some stage. You end up trying to discreetly wipe your shoe clean on the grass but that doesn't clean in between the tread. People give you awkward stares and no one wonders to close to you...if only you saw that landmine in time! How come you didn't see it? Well sometimes its just lack of concentration on your side, but often it's also due to the brownish autumn leaves on the lawns that made the poop blend in.

Now when responsible people look at buying cars, they wisely make sure that the potential purchase contains the essential safety features such as airbags, ABS brakes, stability control etc. These are great for if you get into an emergency situation that requires evasive action or results in an impact. But what about safety features that prevent getting into those situations? Most accidents result from not seeing the 'other' vehicle. A great way to improve the visibility of your vehicle is to drive with your lights on at all times. This will improve the chances of other cars seeing your car when you are in their peripheral vision. The other major aspect in increasing your cars visibility is its colour. In the same way that doggy doo can blend in with its surroundings, so can cars of certain colours.

So what are the good colours and bad colours? A good basic rule is that the lighter and brighter the colour, the safer it is. The darker the colour, the more difficult it is for it to catch your attention. This effect results from darker shades blending in more with the surrounding areas making it less noticeable.

There are however exceptions. If you live in a snowy area, obviously a white car will blend in with the background, so best to have a bright contrasting colour. According to statistics, black cars have the highest accident rates, even though there are fewer of them around than white and silver cars.

So if you are adamant on getting the safest car, choose the colour wisely, it could save your life.