Commuting - Newbie confused and lazy...

Just tried to read through the geekiness posts and was intrigued at first since my commute will be in the dark both ways most of the time.
However, with all of the changing and complexity, I have become very confused and honestly, I am now turned-off to the idea of any elaborate lighting system.
I guess I need to be convinced, non-technically, that it would be worth my effort to attack such an endeavor.
My commute will be on main streets with plenty of street-lights. There are no spots on my route without them. I don't really need the lights for me to see, but more for others to see me.
Needless to say, I am as much a newbie as a newbie can be. My ride will be 16 miles round trip. I'm still workin on the backpack/pannier decision. I hate sweat on my back, and I don't really want to fork out a lot of money for fancy-schmancy backpacks. I want everything as efficient, simple, and inexpensive as possible.
I've already learned a lot from reading various forums such as this, and hope to learn much more from all here. This one seems to be the simplest that I've seen. Therefore, I hope to find a 'home' here.

I'd suggest a rear blinkie and a Road Toad (or similar) front battery light You will probably go through a set of batteries a week, but it is a simple solution. A flashlight and some bungee is another solution to the headlight problem.

Blinkies are cheap and the batteries last for months.

Paul

Welcome to the forums, LD, we're not only simple here, we're cheap, too!!
Lights: I've commuted the last 2 winters, dark both ways, I now have 3 $20 LED lights on 2 bikes, they're all I've needed for riding on the well lit roads around here. I have 2 on a bike when I'm riding, but usually only use one and have one for a spare (I tend to wait to change batteries until they no longer work) I have 2 Planet Bike front lights, a DualSpot and a Spot 3, very happy with both, the Spot 3 is a little brighter. The other is a BLT Doppler, works well too, but takes funny batteries. Battery life is great with all 3.
I have an unlit bike trail section I sometimes ride on, 2 lights is usually ok, I might buy something a little better for next year. I have regular $8 flashing blinkie LED for the back, plus some reflective tape on the fenders, plus I wear a vest.
As for rack and panniers, start out with a rack and bag. That's usally what I use for spring, summer and fall commuting. Last winter I used the cheapest rack you could buy (no problems with it) and some pannier bags I found for $5 at Value Village. This winter I bought some $100 Axiom 40L pannier bags and new rack. They're great, I plan on using them for some bike tourinig this year.

Don't think you have to spend big bucks on the "proper stuff". There's always a cheap way to do things, but some people spend big bucks to avoid looking a little on the dorky side. I haven't let the dorkiness factor affect my riding, I'm riding in the dark most of the time, anyways!

The best and simplist lighting system is probably the Cateye EL300 ($30) which is the brightest of the self contained battery units or the Cateye EL200 ($20). These lights use 4 AA bats but they will last on the average of 25 hours at full brightness then dim to a glow that others can see for about 40 more hours. Both of those headlights have a little side window for light to shine out for some side visiblity.

Combine this with the Cateye TLLD600 taillight ($20) and you will have a more than adequate but inexpensive lighting system both in intial outlay as well as battery expense that is extremily easy to setup and use.

get one of those 3 bulb LED headlights too and put it on your helmet. You can point it right at drivers coming out of side streets and the blue white light seems to get their attention better. You'll need other lights since they ain't worth a dman for illuminating the road. Ok for checking a chain or changing a tire too

I say just one blinker in the front, and one in the rear just to be seen...but it might not fit into the law. Try to find a white front strobe? Should be an econonmical solution...

When a Cateye EL-300 is aimed up above the road, it is a very bright, almost blinding light. That should take care of you being seen from the front. One or two rear red blinkies on the seatpost will do for behind you.
If you are going to be commuting for a large section of the year, it would be worth it to get NiMH rechargeable batteries. They last as long in my Cateye as Durcells.

I say just one blinker in the front, and one in the rear just to be seen...but it might not fit into the law. Try to find a white front strobe? Should be an econonmical solution...

I used this system up until I moved into an area that is not light very well. It worked fine and here in Washington the only thing it specifies as far as headlight is that it must be seen from 250' away.

As for putting a light on your helmet to point at drivers there are many other viable methods to use (my voice is one and I simply point at them when I am yelling at them) than to temporally blind someone in a car , which is not only dangerous but it would just piss them off. Of course thats just my $.02 worth.

I ride where there is no ambient light and use an HID Light, but have a cateye led headlight batteries last a couple hundred hours even though intensity may dim a bit it is perfect for areas with lights. It will let them know your coming as well as illuminate enough of a patch in the road to watch out for glass. Was amazed one night to see a guy riding a pitch black trail with nothing but a clear blinking light on the front. I like to see where I'm going and for the wildlife to know I'm coming.