Originally Posted by
Ediblestarfish
The number of cyclists prevalent is highly dependent at the time of day and location. But suffice to say, at dusky rush hours, I occasionally see far more than 20 bicycles in the evening at large, busy intersections. I don't even want to think about my trips to China, where I've seen more than a hundred. With all of them using blinking lights I'd have a hard time tracking them all as my attention keeps being pulled from one to the other.
We may just have to disagree on this. I haven seen it be a problem, but I'm sure it could be given enough cyclists with obnoxious flashers. I'm not sure that this potential problem outweighs the already-present problem of bikers being hit because they weren't seen.
Another problem for blinking lights is that it is also the signal for a stop sign, or a turn signal. More flashing lights to watch for does not seem like a good answer.
This seems like a weak argument. You could argue that turn signals should not flash for the same reason (distracts from flashing stop/yield/caution signs), yet most of us seem to think that they are a good thing.
I'd actually say the small area of light is as much a problem as the brightness and the flashing. A larger surface lit up at a constant moderate brightness is easier to track by eye. A small blinking dot doesn't immediately indicate a bike to me, since all can focus on is a small blinking dot. It could be a jogger or pedestrian too, for all I can tell. Two circles from glowing rims I can instantly understand as a bike, but only if it's a whole circle that stays steady. It's like a heiroglyph for bicycle.
A larger solid light might be easier to follow, but it harder to notice. It's a tradeoff. For head/tail lights, we're also unlikely to see large lights on bikes. They'd likely be too heavy and not aerodynamic enough. Maybe I'm wrong and we'll see some bigger lights on bikes.
As for the wheel lights blinking, solid might well be plenty noticeable. I seriously doubt that many people would see these flashing while in motion and
not recognize it as a bike, though. The circular shape is extremely obvious, blinking or not.