although i personally think that LED blinkies are more effective, legally in Germany you must have a SOLID red light in the rear. anyhow, my old blinkies have slowly been replaced by solids as they wear out/break as i can only buy non-flashing here as that's what's legal, so i now have a solid LED light on the rear of all my bikes plus the blinkie on the helmet - plus various reflectors of course.

but yeah, even if it confuses people or motorists, that's usually good as confusion means they slow down, pay attention and use extra caution - all good things for the cyclist!

i installed 2 new orange reflectors on my commuter yesterday (i already had 2 red reflectors plus some reflective tape and a few refective spokes) and i pointed it out to my girlfriend who commented that it looks dorky with all the reflectors... but, oh well, if one must be dorky to be extra safe i think that's OK.

compared to the US where many commuters have their bikes decked out with lights and reflectors, here in Germany most have only a single rear LED, single rear reflector and 3W headlamp -- although German drivers are much more attentive to cyclists AND it's dealing with cyclists is a significant part of the driver training here --- as drivers have to look at the bike path before making a right turn (see other thread on bike paths for why i hate this)