Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche
Actual research says a white helmet will help you more than loud pipes. Add in a headlight modulator and a yellow jacket, and you're about twice as safe and a lot less obnoxious.
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White tends to actually become less visible in bright sunshine (it resembles normal environmental glare, rather than being more visible) and is only really visible at night if it's reflective.
You'd be better off with a yellow or orange helmet if safety is your only goal. Millions of school busses, fire trucks and construction workers can't be wrong. Of course, you won't win any fashion contests, but it's all about assuming risk.
Least visible color: no, it's not black: it's grey. When you're the same color as the road, no one is going to see you. Black, on the other hand, draws your eye to it by it's lack of brightness. It's an empy hole in your path of vision. However, it's still very easy to look through by virtue of it's lack of standing out.
However, black can actually add visibility by adding contrast to bright colors, the way warning stripes on a road barricade do. The key is to be careful of the pattern. A well placed stripe or two can draw the eye to an object while a complicated pattern can actually make you less visible (such as with a tiger or zebra's stripes).