People here are explaining why it COULD happen that a driver aims for the object they are hoping to miss. Steve's is the only story I've heard of it happening, but it doesn't seem like it would happen much. I do agree that there is such a thing as too bright, though it's hard to determine that.

I saw a nice setup on an ebike this week, but it's not practical for a human powered bike. There was a horizontal bar with two taillights about a foot apart. One second, they were both off, the next second they flashed about ten times per second. It alternated this way. In the middle (between those two lights), a third light was steady-on. The steady light was brighter than the two edge lights. Blinking is an attention grabber, so blinking lights don't need to be super bright.

I wear reflective trouser bands when I wear long pants. I don't usually wear the trouser bands when I'm wearing shorts, and maybe I should. I'm told they're a smart thing to have, though you really never know when headlights will reflect against stuff like this and when they won't.

I have, in the past, run a Nite-Ize spoke light in my rear wheel. It's a fantastic attention grabber even though it's not bright at all. The trouble is that it requires two CR2016 cells. They last half as long as CR2032 cells, and they cost more. And I have to turn this on and off. I believe in compromise, and I feel my routines for on and off the bike are already long, so I don't often use the spoke light. My commute is only about 30 minutes long.