advice from the cops on how to make your car hard to spot - "Red and black are the two least visible colors and any two-tone using red and black and any other color. Red and white. Black and white," Solomon said. "It actually enhances camouflage rather than visibility." - "The problem with black is it blends in with the background very well, day and night," Solomon said. And, he said, when police use two tones, like black and white, they break up the silhouette of the vehicle, making it harder to see. Original Article Police cruisers switching back to black Judi Villa The Arizona Republic Nov. 14, 2005 12:00 AM Black is back. After years of blues and browns on police cars, the traditional black-and-white is once again gaining popularity, and law enforcement agencies from coast to coast and across the Valley are making the switch. Police say the black-and-white cars are more visible and the old-fashioned color scheme remains unmistakably synonymous with "cops." "I think they're great," said Gilbert police Sgt. John Lyle. "They grab people's attention. For me, personally, it does have some historic value. That's what I grew up knowing as a police car. "There's no doubt when people see a black-and-white car, they know what it is." In the Valley, police departments in Gilbert, Buckeye, Peoria and Tolleson already have converted their fleets to black and white. Last year, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio picked black as the new color for his cruisers and sport utility vehicles, saying he wanted a "sharper" image. Tucson police took delivery of 50 black-and-white patrol cars a year ago, returning to the color scheme it had in the 1930s and '40s. And Mesa police have started to equip 45 black-and-white cruisers that should hit the street in a couple of months. With black hoods and trunks, the cars cost about $400 more than today's all-white patrol cars, but Mesa is offsetting that by going with smaller hubcaps, said Sgt. Chuck Trapani. It will be about six years before all of Mesa's 287 patrol cars can be replaced. The new cars will be easier for police helicopters to identify from the air and were overwhelmingly popular in surveys of officers and Block Watch captains, Trapani said. "When you're in Arizona, a majority of cars on the roadway are white," he said. "All of a sudden you see a black and white, and 'Oh, that's a police car.' It's easier to flag us down." But while public recognition and traditional values may make black a popular choice for police cars, truthfully, it doesn't make them safe or more visible, said Dr. Stephen Solomon, an optometrist in Owego, N.Y., who is a national expert on emergency vehicles, color and visibility. "The problem with black is it blends in with the background very well, day and night," Solomon said. And, he said, when police use two tones, like black and white, they break up the silhouette of the vehicle, making it harder to see. So what is the most visible color? A bright, light green, called lime yellow. "Red and black are the two least visible colors and any two-tone using red and black and any other color. Red and white. Black and white," Solomon said. "It actually enhances camouflage rather than visibility." Solomon said his ideal police car would be a single, light color, like white or lime yellow, with lots of reflective material. Police cars in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and some European countries incorporate bright yellow, orange, red and blue in fluorescent checkered strips running along the sides of white vehicles to be more conspicuous. In the Valley, police cars of all colors incorporate reflective striping, lettering and identifying decals. But Mike Tellef, spokesman for the Peoria Police Department, said the retro color scheme has its own, special visibility. Mission accomplished, according to Danny Miller, of Buckeye, who said the classic black-and-whites "stand out more for sure." "That's what they should look like," Miller said. Still, not every agency is making the switch. Phoenix police and the state Department of Public Safety plan to stick with their white-and-blue cars. DPS Officer Frank Valenzuela said his agency put a lot of work and effort into making their cars easy to see with strips of blue reflective tape. Last year, the DPS cruiser placed third in a national law enforcement vehicle design contest. Judges praised the effective use of reflective decals and conspicuous markings. "We're really happy with our color scheme," Valenzuela said. "We don't believe people have any problems identifying our cars."