Seeing Red on the Road

Abstract

Human and animal research has found that red perception is associated with specific behavioral reactions, generally characterized by intense responses. Here, we explored whether red cars are perceived as more dangerous than other colored cars. One hundred Spanish drivers examined several road scenarios which involved hazardous cars with different colors: red, green, yellow, black, gray, and white. Driver's behavior (response time and probability of braking) and the perceived level of risk for each scenario were analyzed. Although car color affected participants' response times, contrary to expectations, red cars did not elicit faster responses or higher perceived levels of risk.