Originally Posted by
cyccommute
One should check local laws before removing reflectors. I think they are useless…and perhaps even dangerous…but some states require the bike to have them if riding at night, even when using active lights.
I think reflectors can be useful. Obviously you should be running good lights on your bike at night, modern LED lights make it easy to see and be seen, but pedal reflectors (when pedaled) make it obvious that it is a bicycle, likewise the reflective strips on many Schwalbe tyres (which are from Germany, where they take safety seriously). It's just about giving other road users more clue that they're approaching a cyclist, and possibly serving as a backup if your rear light fails and you don't notice.