I encountered a driver on a dark road tonight. He yelled at me about my lights. "Good lights! Good lights!".
When I am driving at night, my main dislike about cyclists are the ones who are so dark that I can't see them. Well illuminated riders makes my life as a driver better, because they don't stress me out. I have never seen a cyclist with a light that threatened to "blind" me, even slightly. But I frequently encounter headlights from oncoming cars that are so bright that I have to look away.
How can that be, since some of us have such fearsome lumen-power? I think it is a question of range and movement. Sure, that 1000 lumen light fixed in our eyes, head-on at five feet range, is blinding. When does a driver ever stare at a cyclist's light head-on at five feet range? That same light across an intersection - fifty feet or more - bobbing and waving, is nothing special.
I too have received way more compliments than complaints on my lights over the years, both from pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.
But I've never seen any cars have trouble driving around me due to the lights, unless you count the ones who changed direction to keep from running into me after they noticed me due to my lights. Another things I haven't noticed is automobile traffic having any problems when they approach form a 90 degree angle. My route takes me across a pair of 4 lane roads, and I often have to wait for traffic. I've never seen a problem with traffic not being able to continue in a straight line after passing me. Don't these drivers know they should be having the troubles some of you have mentioned?
Sometime ago there was a picture posted here of a bicycle under a large dumptruck after a fatal accident. The driver never saw the bicyclist until after the accident, and in one of the pictures you could faintly see the dim glow of a nice polite low powered light that wouldn't offend anyone still shining after the accident. I don't want to end up like that.