I use my lights on steady when it's dark. Partly this is just because flashing lights annoy me when I'm driving and I think my lights are bright enough to get noticed without flashing. I also read somewhere that drunk drivers are drawn toward flashing lights. I think they said there was a study, but for me it's enough to think about the mountain biking mantra, "The bike goes where you look," and imagine that applied to a drunk person in a car.

So I guess the reality is I have nothing concrete to back up my use of steady lights.