I use my brightest flashers in daylight in traffic. They aren't bright enough to blind anyone. I've seen enough drivers notice me and slam on the brakes when they were about to pounce in front of me from a parking lot or intersection. It works well enough.

At night I'll change the mode or lights. My helmet light is only 300 lumens and very directional from the front but with good side visibility. I'll continue using the flashing mode in traffic. My rear helmet light is only 20 lumens on red so I'll leave it on flashing mode. Just bright enough to be seen from a distance at night. Between the blinking and normal head movement it helps drivers see me. I've noticed other cyclists much more readily at night when they use similar low power helmet lights.

For night use on my bike mounted Cygolite Hotshot I'll change the mode to either a lower intensity blinking mode, or a slow pulse that peaks at maximum output.

When riding the multi-use path or cycling with groups I modify the lights to suit conditions -- less output, aimed lower.