Originally Posted by
Digital_Cowboy
I would have to agree with you. A while ago I was talking with an officer (before the law was amended) and he acknowledged that for cyclists that the use of blinking/flashing lights is/was a safety issue and thus "ignored."
What I found interesting also a while back, is that while there is (as in all states) a minimal power requirement, i.e. being visible for x number of feet to the front and rear of the bicycle that there is apparently is no limit on how powerful a light could be. So that if one had one of those "1,000,000 candlepower" spot lights (the kind that "rednecks" use to "spotlight" deer even though it is illegal), and they could figure out a way of affixing it to their bikes, that they're good to go.
Yes and no. There's no maximum power for bicycle headlights, but in some states at least, bicycle headlights are subject to the general rule against headlights that cast excessive glare into the eyes of oncoming drivers. That rule has been around since the days of 6V mono-beam incandescent car headlights -- better bike headlights already far exceed the output of those car headlights. As long as police think of bikes as toys instead of transportation, though, I don't think we're at much risk of having our safety taken seriously.