Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
Drivers see what they need to see. When they don't it is because they are distracted for one reason or another. That's at night. In the daytime its even less likely that an alert driver will not see you regardless of what you are flashing or not flashing.
It can be dangerous to assume it's all due to distraction.
Myself, I've experienced inability to discern shadows and colors when conditions are right ... with background patterns and colors, the nearby vehicle colors, shadows from lighting and buildings, and then a cyclist or motorcyclist. Even once didn't immediately (visually) pick up the back third of an 18-wheel big-rig truck backing out into a multi-lane road, due to the colors of the truck blending in perfectly with the background coloring/textures on the buildings at that spot.
Point is, it's hard to tell what a given driver's likely to see or not see, or whether one's inability to see something is due to inattentiveness or distraction or something else.
No matter how little or much lighting and color/contrast differences improve one's chances of a given person seeing those things, IMO it's a worthwhile consideration.
Fact is, with motor vehicles, all sorts of effort is put into requiring vehicles to have certain sizes, colors, contrasts with lights. That's not all done for zero reason. As others have suggested in the case of "running" lights on vehicles, it can aid in visually picking up the vehicle sooner rather than later.
Same would be the case with smaller vehicles.
Even to the point of aiding a runner. Having done tens of thousands of miles of running, back in the day, much of it in less-than-perfect lighting conditions, a runner can benefit hugely from being better-seen via the use of brighter clothing, better-contrasting clothing, reflectors, lights.
Of course, better odds of being seen might be for everyone.
But for those who value it, every little bit can help.
JMO