BS: Jinxed color ?

Subject: Jinxed color ?
From: GUEST,Les B.
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 01:55 PM

I'm not normally superstitious, but I'm starting to lean that way!

Yesterday I went out after work and found a note on the window of my RAV4 (Toyota) which was new last fall. It said "I accidently backed into your car - here's my phone number, call me about insurance info". Well, of course, the bugger gave me a fictitious number. But that's not what I'm concerned about. This is the third fender bender I've had since I got the car. The last was a $7,000 catastrophe, this is about a $100 paint touch-up.

What I'm wondering is if the color - the new silver or platinum look - is a bad color for visibility ? I talked to my insurance agent and he said the color is too new for any evidence one way or the other. Do any of you have anecdotal evidence about car colors & accidents?

I've also talked to a couple of people who said they sold cars because they were having too many accidents and thought they were jinxed. Any experience there ?

I checked into re-painting a more visible color and the paint shop guy thought it would devalue the car too much, plus costing about $3,000, so that's not a viable opiton.

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 02:25 PM

I do hear that some colors are more visible, but it doesn't sound like a visibility thing, more like a jerks who can't drive running into your car kind of thing. I believe that green they were making fire engines out of for a while is the most visible color.

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: catspaw49
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 02:30 PM

I've always contended that people with white, light gray or light tan cars must have some sort of sign on their dash that says.....

Remember NOT to turn on your lights in the early dawn or in fog and mist conditions. This will keep the other drivers on their toes trying to see you.

That's all I can think of because invariably the guy without his lights on has that color of car.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: MMario
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 02:31 PM

or black.

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: GUEST,karenguest
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 02:43 PM

I have an aqua green pick up truck and people can see that from miles around-never got hit. I just bought a "gold" sedan-and I swear no one sees me at all (plus, I am so much lower, I cant see them too well either!)

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 04:10 PM

Evidently red is the color most often involved in accidents. Now, does that mean that red is an unlucky color or might it mean that people who like red tend to be a little careless, perhaps somewhat risk takers?

A parked car, however, is probably not overtly aggressive so yes, I suppose silver is just a jinxed color. :)

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Catherine Jayne
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 04:30 PM

While I was out shopping one day I saw a PINK mini with PURPLED out windows, YUK!!! Im suprised people didn't crash into other cars while staring at this horrible looking car!!!

cat

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: GUEST,Les B.
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 05:55 PM

Catspaw - yes, I've been aware of that phenomena too. Luckily(?) this rig has lights that go on automatically when you start up. Still didn't keep me from getting smucked this winter on a fairly gray snowy day. (Of course the other driver was a 16-year-old with a car full of kids with pink mohawks, on their way to a party!)

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 06:45 PM

Just think back to the last time you were driving any distance... ever look in your mirror and not see a car, only to be overtaken by one a few minutes later? It's usually one of the paler colours in daytime, and a dark car at night. Lighter cars show up better at night, but dark ones vanish. A nice mid range colour that is visible in the daylight but light enough to be seen at night turns out to be either yellow (there's a particular company that churned out metalic mustard yellow one year.... euugghh!), or a light to mid blue. Grey is visible at night but vanishes into daylight, as does silver.

Mind you if it was parked, maybe you should be looking at your parking space......

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: michaelr
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 11:05 PM

Safety studies have shown that the most visible color combination is yellow/black (which is why they make police tape that way), followed by red/white, I think. So just paint your car those colors, then park it permanently in the garage, and it should be OK.

Hope that helps!
Michael

BTW, there's no such thing as a "jinx". I know, I asked my psychic horoscope channeler.

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Jul 02 - 11:52 PM

I drove two silver/gray Subaru wagons, in succession, in Wyoming and never had any problems. I did have the lights on because they would automatically go off when I turned off the key, so that may have helped.

I've heard insurance rates are higher for red cars, but my mom and sister both drove red cars and I didn't consider them to be reckless at all.

Maybe put some reflective stripes on yours?*bg*

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Jul 02 - 12:41 AM

We had a silver pick up for years....no accidents at all but I do tend to agree that the silver/grey/tan ones are more difficult to see in the gloaming and the dark blue/black ones after dark. Red cars also get more speeding tickets than others, and are stolen more often. Paint it "HighWay Neon Green" and everybody will see it and nobody will steal it............(grin)

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 27 Jul 02 - 01:03 AM

To me the surprising thing was that your insurance person thought that silver or platinum were new colors.

Red cars often get higher rates because of a couple reasons.

1: More sports cars are red than say minivans or sedans & sports cars get higher rates.

2: Accident rates for red cars are higher - this is believed to be because red is an aggressive color and the more agressive you are the more likely you will cause accidents. Those of us who are more conservative dislike red cars and so when we're tired of our car, we occasionally let a red car plow into ours.

pax yall

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Kaleea
Date: 27 Jul 02 - 01:43 AM

I've had my silvery gray pontiac for a long time with no troublin' fender bender dentin' atall! Now the AMC hornet which my long lost hubby insisted upon buying (withOUT my blessing!) was a lemon despite the fact that I told him--as soon as I sat in it--that I got "bad vibes" about it. (Hey, it was a hippie thing to get "vibes," OK?!) The color? Green! (lemons start out being green)

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 27 Jul 02 - 02:54 AM

I had a big red Lada. Never had any trouble in it, except it got broken into a couple of times - but this was an area where they'd break into police cars that were stopped at the traffic lights!

It had a pretty fair turn of acceleration but looked like a rust heap - I washed it twice in the 6 years I owned it..... People were very surprised when I sailed past them at speed. It had the aerodymanics of your average house brick but went like a bomb (I got it up to 120mph a couple of times, and it was happy cruising there), but it didn't like sitting in traffic. I don't recall any road rage type incidents..... maybe Lada's just don't look that aggressive.

In the white estate car we have now, I'm forever being tailgated (even though I'm travelling with the majority of the traffic), it's been smashed into whilst parked (stolen car took the corner too fast and swerved into it), it's got pants acceleration and the passenger lock has been forced twice. I think it's because it's a big family type car and it's a woman driving it.... other drivers see me as fair game, simply because of the type of car I drive. They also get a shock because I've been told I drive like a man (no, not with one arm out the window and the other scratching my bollocks, I drive in a non-defensive manner) but I would hope not aggresively. I've only ever tailgated once, and that was because the guy did it to me, forced me to pull into a space I considered not quite big enough for a motorbike and then tried to force me off the road completely, all because I had ignored his flashing headlights when there was no space to pull into.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 27 Jul 02 - 02:55 AM

Oh, and it was a silver car he was driving. With a big dent in the rear passenger door.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Helen
Date: 27 Jul 02 - 03:08 AM

Hey Liz-t-s,

I've got a great way to really piss tailgaters off - in both usages of that expression, i.e. annoy the hell out of them, and get them to piss off and leave me alone. The other advantage is that I get my mischievous jollies out of it for the day - I drive off grinning like a cheshire cat.

My trick is not to speed up, not to try to move into a different lane, or pull over. I actually slow down a couple of kilometres *below* the speed limit. If they were impatient before, then this really winds them up and they can't out from behind me fast enough. *They* end up changing lanes as soon as possible, and then after they do that I take my time and change lanes out of the way of other, more polite, motorists.

The last time I did this I had to slow down 20 (yes 20!) kms below the speed limit before they got the message. Still worked though! I had sympathy for the other motorists behind us but it was worth it, and after the b*****ds took off ahead I just sped back up to the speed limit and we were all a lot better off.

Just picture me with a wicked grin on my face, looking like Cruella de Ville, driving along at 60 kms an hour in an 80 zone.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 27 Jul 02 - 05:14 AM

Helen, I wish your tailgater trick worked in Ireland - here the only thing that works is to pull to the side and let them pass. In Connemara, especially, there seem to be a lot of people with some kind of secret homosexual yearnings who hang on to the arse of any car in front.

LesB, may I suggest that you get a small flag of whatever nation you're in and attach it to the car? The emotional response, at whatever subfusc level, is going to alert drivers to the fact that this is a car, and not a piece of car-shaped empty space, that they're backing towards.

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Gypsy
Date: 27 Jul 02 - 08:47 PM

Silver is definitly the dangerous colour for our area. To the point when i was looking for new vehicle, told the dealers, don't care what colour, just no grey/silver. Of course, we live on the coast, in the fog. Fog coloured vehicle ungood.

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 28 Jul 02 - 03:25 PM

Managed another long haul today, tailgater (in a silver Mondeo) did me for 5 miles as I slowed to speed limit (no space in front) so he took off down the inside lane, straight in front of the unmarked video car (I could see the video in the front and the passenger on the radio rather than a mobile phone.....) which then promptly got him at the next junction. hee hee heee!!!

And if the right song is on the radio/tape, I drive like a Cheshire cat anyway!!!

(Have taught Phoebe 'Downtown').....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: Bert
Date: 28 Jul 02 - 04:01 PM

The trick is to buy a car that already has a dent or two in it. Such cars rarely get hit and even if they do, an extra ding or two is not going to make much of a difference. And it has the added bonus of the fact that many other drivers will give you a wide berth.

Subject: RE: BS: Jinxed color ?
From: artbrooks
Date: 28 Jul 02 - 04:51 PM

Red is an unlucky color...especially for the young lady (17) who pulled a U-turn in front of my Blazer truck Thursday PM. Nobody hurt, thankfully, but subtract one red Ford Escort from the equation.