I'm not as much worried about distance perception. I think the flashing light draws attention to the cyclist, and the driver can see the cyclist as a whole, flashing or not. Plus I tend to try to use light clothing with reflective elements.

Intensity of flash is something I've wondered about... daylight, dusk, and night. Too much can be bad. Although, cars may slow down more when passing a bright flash. Nonetheless, I don't want to blind anybody driving a big vehicle behind me.

Thinking about bike lights, I wonder if they evolved differently in the USA than in Germany.

Back in the 60's and 70's, perhaps earlier the little tire bottle powered generators ruled. Plus non-rechargeable incandescent lights.

Both the USA and Germany mandated lighting, but Germany went a step further requiring lighting on the bikes at all times, while the USA only required the lights at night... sometimes. And reflectors.

Then in the late 80's, the first LED taillights came on the market. Still non-rechargeable, The flash mode was advertised as a battery saving feature. Leave them on for a week or so and they still flash.

Those flashing battery powered lights were rapidly adopted by American cyclists, and the cyclists liked the flashing modes.

On the other hand, Germany apparently was legislating generator lights, and may well have been late adopting LEDs. Thus, no need to flash. Somewhere I read a comment that a flashing incandescent taillight could potentially cause the headlamp to flicker.

Anyway, so Germany mandated steady lamps via legislation, while the USA generally adopted flashing lights with very little legislation.