Breaking Down Why Police Cars are Painted Black and White

If you’re anything like us, you might question some of the most mundane and common things in life. Sure, something might’ve been the way that it is forever. How did these things come to be, though? Did someone just arbitrarily pick one day?

The perfect example of this is considering why police cars, in general, are about the same colors across the country. Luckily, the creators over at Bright Side found it worth their while to break it down and talk a little bit about it.

According to their research, the original black-and-white cop cars were done in order to accomplish two goals.

First, they wanted something that was easily recognizable. Not very many cars are painted in this way. Therefore, police cars could be distinguishable from other vehicles.

In addition, government vehicles need to be effective but also need to be done on a budget. When spending taxpayer dollars, frivolous spending is very frowned upon. Therefore, the paint job couldn’t cost that much. At the time, black and white would be about the perfect solution to that issue. As you might have noticed, this theme has held true to this day in some locations. As time has going on, Bright Side points out that these colors have evolved to include blue and gray depending on the location. It does seem like the general theme has remained similar, though, in America.

By following along down in the video below, we get more of an in-depth look at how police cars are designed. We even get an explanation on the bright checkerboard pattern across the world that seems to provide a common theme outside of the United States.

Do these rules hold true for police vehicles around your location? What do you think those police cars should look like around the world?