Police departments across the country are converting their police cruisers to the classic black and white squad cars from decades ago, both for tradition and better visibility, USA Today reported. The police department in Mesa, Ariz., has begun a six-year project to switch its white cars with blue decals to a black and white paint job. Department spokesman Chuck Trapani told the newspaper that the design makes the cars more visible in low light and high illumination. In hot regions, such as Arizona, many civilian cars are white, so the new cruisers will more visible to other drivers. Also, in Wisconsin, where a similar change is underway, the new black-and-white style will prevent the cruisers from being lost in a snow storm, as can happen with the white cruisers currently used, the report said. However one expert, Stephen Solomon, an optometrist and member of New York’s DMV medical advisory board, told USA Today that the retro paint job camouflages the vehicle. He says that municipal settings are distinguished by straight lines. A solid-color cruiser allows itself to be silhouetted against the backdrop of a city, where has the broken up pattern of the black-and-white cars will blend in more. The National Safety Council, a non-profit organization that promotes health and safety, suggests that its members paint their fleets’ vehicles in lighter tones with varied logos to make the car more visible.