Conflicting Findings On Color Visibility
Although black helmets are popular among motorcyclists, one study determined they offer the least visibility to motorists. Riders wearing a plain white helmet rather than a black one were associated with a 24% lower risk of suffering a motorcycle accident injury or death. This study also notes "Riders wearing high visibility clothing and white helmets are likely to be more safety conscious than other riders."
However, the MAIDS report did not back up the claims that helmet color makes any difference in accident frequency, and that in fact motorcycles painted white were actually over-represented in the accident sample compared to the exposure data. While recognizing how much riders need to be seen, the MAIDS report documented that riders' clothing usually fails to do so, saying that "in 65.3% of all cases, the clothing made no contribution to the conspicuity of the rider or the PTW . There were very few cases found in which the bright clothing of the PTW rider enhanced the PTW’s overall conspicuity (46 cases). There were more cases in which the use of dark clothing decreased the conspicuity of the rider and the PTW (120 cases)." The MAIDS report was unable to recommend specific items of clothing or colors to make riders better seen.
Read more about this topic: Motorcycle Helmet
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