Year around here. 5:30 am is still dark no matter what time of year. Even in full daylight I ride with lights going on commutes home. somewhere in my drivers ed classes as a kid they mentioned that headlights give the oncoming drivers 3/10's second heads up. roughly the amount of time it takes to hit the brakes. so I figure I am ahead of the game. I also drive my car with lights on all the time. Insurance companies support this.