Following extensive research based on a sample of 5,430 write-offs taken from MIAFTR Ireland (Irish Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register), Cartell.ie can reveal that the colours purple (0.0132 per 1000) and green (0.0130 per 1000) are the two colours most likely to be written-off in the Irish fleet.

A write-off occurs when a vehicle sustains damage sufficient for the vehicle to be written-off the books of the insurance company. These are categorised from Category A to Category D.

At the other end of the scale the colour brown is the clear winner for safest vehicle colour. A very small number of brown vehicles were recorded as written off (0.0023 per 1000) in comparison with the fleet average for that colour. The research indicates that a driver of a green car is 5 times more likely to have their vehicle written off than a driver of a brown car.

Here is the list of colours with their associated number of write-offs:

Colour	w/o per 1000
Brown	0.0023
Bronze	0.0026
Yellow	0.0037
Beige	0.0041
Orange	0.0043
White	0.0045
Grey	0.0056
Black	0.0061
Red	0.0078
Blue	0.0079
Silver	0.0081
Gold	0.0083
Pink	0.0088
Green	0.0130
Purple	0.0132

Purple can largely be ignored as the overall numbers of purple cars are much lower than green and a small number of incidents have had an effect on the numbers (a small sample size of data).

The reasons for the colour green appearing at the top of the list for write-off incidents may include:

– Hedgerows in Ireland are many in close proximity to Irish roads, and are obviously generally green coloured, making green vehicles more difficult to spot.

– The army use green vehicles because they are easier to camouflage (which strengthens the argument that green is more difficult to spot on the road).

– Green vehicles may not be picked up as quickly by the human eye (particularly when using peripheral vision).

– The colour green calms the mind which may, theoretically at least, lead to slower reactions times when confronted with a green vehicle.

Finally it’s worth remembering that whatever the colour of your vehicle, all drivers should use day-time running lights for road safety. It is has been mandatory in the EU for all manufactured cars and light commercials to be sold with day-time running lights since 2011.