Yeah. And if you're going really slow (in a car) you're supposed to have your flashers on. Almost all slow moving vehicles (construction, garbage, plows, etc.) have flashing yellow lights.

I just think that flashing lights stand out in a city filled with all kinds of lights. Although, at night you need a steady front beam to lit your way. Plus some cyclists reported nausea from blinking front lights in the dark. I still use reflective elements though to make it more clear that I'm a cyclist.

I liked my old urban commute set up when I was still using panniers - I had amber Vista lights on each pannier and flashed those, leaving my red lights on solid. IMO much more apt to be connected to "vehicle" in the minds of drivers than a single red blinky. Of course that is just my opinion, YMMV.

This works... the flashing front light really is beneficial when you spend your time riding in and with traffic, especially when you are coming through intersections as it makes you more visible to drivers who might turn in front of or in to you.

If you are on a MUP the flashing light is just really annoying to oncoming cyclists.

best way is for you to see the differnce is to look for other cyclists (especially if you are driving) and see which is more visible at night (or day). The one with a solid light only or the ones with a blinking front light.


I have no doubt you will find people with blinking lights are a lot more noticble.... and simply, visibiliyt improves safety.

I run a blinking front when commuting during daylight and run a solid and a blinking front light at night.
right now I don'tr have a whole log of lumens, but am looking to upgrade to a around 450 lumne solid light and 200 or so lumen blinking light.t

CygoLite on steady to see the road, and a PB helmet mount on blinkie to be seen. Specifically with one intersection in mind where cars are coming off of a freeway exit ramp onto a dedicated right turn lane, but flying right through a Pedestrian/Cyclist Yield Sign in the process.

This yield sign is meant to allow cyclists to continue on in our bike lane after we go under the viaduct. I have to go by 3 lanes of cars stopped at the light, but this right turn lane has green and they're still going freeway speeds and not even looking left as they approach to turn right. So yeah, I sure as hell use all my height up over the stopped cars and pop that flashing light right at them. No apologies.

I'm with those who believe in making sure that the light(s) has to be properly positioned so as to not blind others but at the same time be effective. I also believe that flashing lights are to be seen and that a steady light is to see by. I run both, I have flashers and steadies on my bike.

At night I run my handlebar mounted headlight and helmet mounted headlight constantly on. On the back I run my rack mounted taillight constantly on, my seatpost mounted taillight, a Cateye TL-LD1000, with one bank constant on, the other bank in flash mode, and my helmet mounted taillight constantly on.

During the day in overcast, foggy or rainy conditions I add a handlebar mounted headlight and run it in flash mode, with both banks of my TL-LD1000 in flash mode.

Flashing lights are an attention grabber, but do nothing for spacial awareness. With nothing to compare it to, the viewer of a flashing light in the dark cannot tell if the light is moving nor how far away it is. With a single light that is constantly on the viewer may be able to see the light moving, but will have nothing by which to judge distance until they get very close. Multiple lights that are constantly on make judging movement and distance easy. That is why I run two headlights and effectively four taillights at night. During the day under low light conditions I can be seen easily enough, I just want something that grabs the attention of motorists and says, "HERE I AM! SEE ME!", so that they notice me earlier than they otherwise would.

It has been my experience that I am seen and noticed earlier during daylight conditions that I run flashing lights, than I am on bright, sunny days without the lights.

When towing a trailer I usually remove the rack mounted taillight in favor of a taillight on each rear corner of the trailer, effectively giving me five taillights. The trailer mounted lights are run constantly on.

Another reason I think running multiple lights is important is you never know when one is going to malfunction or, especially in the case of taillights, bounce off.

Am I worried about blinding others? Not really. My headlights are much less intense and cover less area than those of a car. My handlebar light is aimed at the road as far out as I can still have the hot spot on the asphalt. My helmet mounted headlight is, of course, aimed where I am looking, but if I don't want to blind someone I just don't put it in their face. The flashing headlight that I use is mounted to aim straight ahead to be the best noticed by motorists, but I only use that one during daylight.

Cars that move significantly faster than other traffic (police cars, ambulances) and cars that move significantly slower than other traffic (heavy equipment, delivery trucks, mail carriers, etc.) definitely do use flashing lights. Other than emergency vehicles, though, they flash lights with a diffuse beam, not a projecting beam, while their headlights remain steady.

Blinking/flashing headlights are generally illegal on motor vehicles other than emergency vehicles, because flashing a bright projecting beam is distracting, disorienting, and dangerous in traffic.

Many motorcycles, however, do have "modulated" headlight intensity -- they vary the intensity up and down by a small percentage, enough to increase conspicuity without the drawbacks of a flashing light. It was an effect that came naturally when motorcycles had magnetos; now that motorcycles have alternators and larger batteries, the modulation is added intentionally.

Sounds like a clue your headlights are confusing, disorienting, or dangerous if they had to stop until you'd passed. If my headlights made oncoming traffic stop in the middle of the road, I'd fix my headlights.

Word! I recently posted a thread about this in the local bike forum. Headlights are great on the MUP, and I love knowing that someone is oncoming; but there is no reason to be running backcountry/trail lights, especially on flash, on the MUP. Just having a moderately bright headlight is enough to make you stand out. It's not like the road, where you need to stand out from the cars and the business signage; out here it's just trees and runners and skiers.

Actually, it sounds like the same thing that has happened to me a couple of times; motorists have stopped and asked what brand my headlights were (Planet Bike 2 watt Blaze), because they noted that the flashing beam was noticeable during the middle of the day. I assume that these motorist were cyclists, and wanted to purchase the same headlight.

Cars are also featuring modulating headlamps....there is nothing illegal about it. What is illegal is having red or blue flashing lights or "wig-waging" your headlights.

I hate that stuff. If I'm driving and someone has crazy high beams from hell I have to either get a mile ahead of them or slow down so they pass... I can't see anything in my rear otherwise.

I've never seen a magicshine so I don't know if they're that bright. But if it's at the point where people going the other way are blinded and running over mailboxes (and possibly pedestrians) then that is not cool.

Great attitude. That's the sort of attitude motorists from hell have: If you don't like my honking, then stop riding a bike and get the **** off the road.

+1 This is a key point. No motor vehicles are allowed to drive with just blinking lights at night but around where I live anyway, if bicycles are using lights, flashing lights only seems to be the norm for bicycles. There are two elements to being seen if you want to be safe: 1. you want to be noticed and 2. you also want those who notice you to be able to tell where you are in the road (including the direction and speed you are moving at). Using flashing lights only on a moving vehicle makes it more difficult for people to accurately track your motion and this is also true if the flashing light is very bright in comparison to the steady light. This is a problem even in well lite urban areas where you are using a flashing light just to be noticed because the flashing lights encountered in this environment are usually standing still, for example the flashing lights on construction barriers or signs. This is particularly a problem for vehicles pulling out from a cross street - they will glance in your direction, see the flashing light, perceive you as a stationary object, and pull out right in front of you. Yes, they noticed your light, but they misjudged your speed and still hit you even though they "noticed" you. This is the key point that you bright flashing light advocates are missing - being noticed is not enough, to be safe you must also allow other road users to accurately judge the speed and direction of your motion, and, unless you are a complete idiot, you will have to admit that a steady light is much better at this latter task than a flashing one.

Steady when it is dark enough to illuminate the road.
Flash when it is not.

There were no other vehicles on the roads at that time.
It was bright daylight.
Guess the $10 Niterider flashing scared them.

Not sure about the other "bright flashing light advocates" but I never suggested running flashing only except in daylight conditions. I run flashing front and rear during the day and add steady front and rear when it gets dark.

^^^
Ditto. I've got the bike's headlight on flash, and my headlamp on steady. It's nice to have the "to see" light always pointing wherever I'm looking.

No, definitely do not flash the front light. It is incredibly obnoxious.

It's also pointless. You flash the rear light b/c you can't see behind you. There's almost no need for a forward facing light b/c you can see what's in front of you.

Hardly pointless when the entire POINT of a flashing front light is for OTHERS to see you.

Like cars coming out of side streets.

If that's obnoxious to you, well you'll get over it. Or not.

I don't need scientific evidence to know what i've seen with my own eyes, which is, when I see a cyclist passing with a blinking light, it's much more noticeable to me than a solid light. Especially in a city like Los Angeles with lights everywhere. Solid lights just blend in and become invisible here. If you live in the boonies with nothing around, then a solid light probably makes more sense.

I ride at night with both lights on steady, and during the day and early evening with flashers. The reason is that flashing lights disorient. If it is dark enough that your flasher creates a strobe effect, then you should have it on steady, it is not safe for you, or oncoming traffic. Especially on long, unlit stretches of road. When a biker is flashing at night, it does attract attention, however the strobe effect also causes errors in depth perception, so that it is hard to tell exactly how far ahead the rider is. It can also be hypnotic, and actually cause a driver to unconsciously get closer to you. Steady lights are more recognizable on the road, as they are associated with vehicles, so i try to position my lights the same height as on a motorcycle, so that in the dark you appear to be a regular vehicle (which you are) and remain visible while not distracting the driver in a dangerous manner.

Concerning flashing lights being more noticeable, that is true if all else is equal. But around here most of the flashing headlights are the ones that run off of a couple of AAA batteries. A real headlight you can see with is going to be way brighter and more noticeable than that in steady mode.

Also again distance is going to be easier to perceive. I once had an oncoming driver flash his hi-beams at me to let me know someone was pulling out of a drive-way ahead of me (that I couldn't see that well from my angle). Don't know if the driver would have seen what was going on if I had a blinking light.

My lights are bright enough that I get the, "woh I thought that was a motorcycle" comment from bystanders (or just smiles). But on my other bike I have one of those AAA blinkies and that goes in flashing mode, because it's just a dot of light to be seen by.

I've run across *******s who have really tiny and really bright strobing lights on BIKE PATH TRAILS.

It is easily the most irritating thing I have ever seen, either behind the wheel or on the bike. You're right, it is disorientating to have to see that.

I had a friend who, while we were stopped at a light, had her flashing headlight (MiNewt, I think) blinking directly into the driver's side mirror of the car in front of us. I could see the driver wincing and trying to shield his eyes. If he was a New Yorker, he probably would've rolled down his window and yelled, "Turn off that @#$*@ light!!!"

Some people here would say, "Hey, at least he saw her!", but really, it was stupidly obnoxious.

I try to turn my front wheel to the side at red lights at night for that very reason, even on steady, so it doesn't shoot right into the driver's eyes in front of me. My opinion is that if I expect the utmost courtesy and respect from cars, I must extend them the same or more.

^^^
Same here. I tend to sit on the top tube at stoplights, and will rest one hand on the bars and hold them about 45 degrees off to the left or right. The other day I got stuck in solid stop/go traffic and rolled behind the same car for about half a mile, through two separate traffic signals. I ended up turning the headlight to steady, just to avoid annoying the driver in front of me.

On the other hand, I did once aim my flashing headlight directly at the center rearview mirror of a car with the intent of annoying the driver. He'd honked at me, passed, and then I ended up behind him at the next light.

I run mine flashing when I am on the road. I have seen enough of both at night (from my car and from my bike) to decide that flashing is much more visible.

If you end up on a path, feel free to switch to solid, no one will be coming at you fast enough not to see it.

There is no reason not to set a rear to flash.

as someone who drives a car once in a while, when I see a flashing light I immediately think "that a cyclist". A small steady light might be mistaken for a distant light. Personally I ride with both: one steady to see the road, another to caution drivers that I am on the road with them.

but if you crash into a cyclist with a steady light you'd probably still think: oh crap,,, yup... "thats a cyclist"..

its true blinking lights are more noticeable.... so when in doubt just flash/strobe them. but on bike paths keep em on steady.

+1