I'm fairly serious about being seen in traffic. I ride a fair bit, and it's not a question of "if" but of "when" I get hit. Lighting might reduce that risk, though it's impossible to tell. If I get hit, I will know that the lights didn't help, but there is almost no occasion when I can know that they did help. A driver is not going to say, "I was just about to hit you, and then I saw your light."

I use my lights regardless of time of day.

For 15 months, I've been using a Cygolite Hypershot 350. I like it very much. I usually use it in blinking mode. I've been told it's too bright by cyclists behind me. Maybe it's also a problem for motorists, but that's another message I'm unlike to get. So this week, put it on steady mode, and I believe that reduces the output to less than 350 lumens. Even at the reduced output, it might use more battery energy since it's on 100% of the time I'm using it.

Do folks here have any suggestions for reaching a reasonable compromise? Maybe this is bright enough to catch attention without causing pain.

Maybe I should use a blinky taillight as a supplement, and at a lower intensity, of course.

One nice feature I noticed is that it indicates low battery when I turn it on. It blinks very rapidly for about a second. It did that last night on my commute, and I made it home before it gave out, so the warning comes on at a good time, not too late.

This light was $50 when I bought it, and now you can get it for $36, so I highly recommend it.

Why does my spelling checker think that "blinky" isn't a word?