1) I agree (that steady is not better). Bike blinkies are small. There's nothing to triangulate distance with, they're a point-source of light even when running steady. Might as well have them flashing, so they actually get noticed.

2) A good blinkie should be noticable from a great distance in darkness anyway. I spotted a SuperFlash from about 1/2 mile the other day at twilight (could ID it as a SF by its strobe pattern). If it had been running steady, I probably wouldn't have noticed it at nearly that range, however... it's the strobing that catches my eye.


So I always recommend running taillights in flashing mode. They get noticed, and they differentiate you from other sources of red light. Personally, I mentally associate blinkies with humans, primarily cyclists. If you want to provide range info, use multiple lights with physical separation (bar-tip lights, helmet-mounted light, lights on each pannier, etc). Think about how much easier it is to get range on a car with two or three working taillights, versus just one... and that's despite most cars having taillights that are very, very large compared to any bike blinkie. Make sense?


Reality check: cruising the highway with a DiNotte 140 in five-pulse mode, and watching the reactions of overtaking traffic using my helmet mirror... there doesn't seem to be a problem