Originally Posted by
chewybrian
I would not go out riding at night w/o rear blinkies, no matter how many reflective devices I was sporting. It's not legal, and not smart. I don't know if you actually meant to advocate reflectors in place of lights, but I would argue that lights are always needed. The lights can be seen from much further away, and do not depend on a secondary light source (like someone else's headlights, which could be pointed a different way, dim, unlit...).
Oregon law only requires use of a red rear reflector.
If you're not in the beam of the secondary light source, there is little chance that they will hit you; you only need to worry about objects whose path will intersect with yours.
I hate blinkies, they are highly annoying; when I do use a tail light, I use a steady beam in consideration of my fellow cyclists.