Under foot

For those who are aware, the Smart Fortwo is the smallest production vehicle in the US market.   Outside of the Twizzy in the UK and the Tata Nano in India, it might be the smallest in the world.  It is a tiny car and with it comes both good and bad aspects.  In this episode we explore the color of the Smart ForTwo and how it affects the car.

It's been said that certain colors are more noticeable than others.  Some colors are easy to be seen, others are not.  A study in Australia at Monash University pointed out that of all the colors (or lack there of) black is the worst, followed closely by grey, and then silver for likelihood of crashes versus white colored vehicles. The report used "white" as the standard by which all vehicle colors were compared as if to say that white is the easiest to see. Of course the study included comparisons in daylight, dusk, and nighttime.  Dusk it seems holds a particular spite for black.

Personally, I've experienced more than one presumptuous maneuver when driving my Smart, where the other driver doesn't seem to grasp that my car is either real or relative.  Fortunately, with its size, the Smart Fortwo has an excellent capacity move or stop quickly if needed and I've yet to trade paint with anyone.

I am keenly aware of how much I tend to miss vehicles that are much larger and not black, and so I decided on white for my car.  I realize that it's not always possible to get the color of car that you would most like, when purchasing used (sometimes also new).  But I cannot understand why anyone would deliberately purchase or alter the color of their car to black, outside of the precise desire to go unnoticed.

Although I do not have the statistics on the most preferred color in a Smart Fortwo.  I did notice that most of the cars on the lot where I bought mine were black.  Either that was because they were not preferred or because many people seek the color.  I've also noticed, back a few years when searching for a truck, that most of those on the market were also black.  These two observations have lead me to the idea that either black vehicles are unwanted or they are in high demand.  In either case they are still the most likely to be in a collision.

In the United States of America, as far as I know, there is no mandate on what color or size a production car must be or not be.  However, I so chose to make my small car as noticeable as I can, barring painting a sparkling, fluorescent share of pink. I realize that I have no control over the actions of others but I can at least drive Smart-ly and safely.