Where is Here?
Post a link to the accident.

I've seen a lot of people in this thread insist on flashing for "safety." But I haven't seen anything here explaining why, how, and based on what evidence is it safer. So I'm not convinced using a flashing light has any benefit. And, having tried it, I found the reflection that comes back at me made it harder to stay in control of the bike (constantly changing level of illumination means that my eyes were never properly adjusted.) If this is the effect it has on me, I imagine it's similar or worse for oncoming traffic.

So, while I have no thoughts about rear lights, and use blinkies myself as this is the standard way of identifying a bike from the rear, I will only use solid lights up front.

I usually switch from flash to steady when in low traffic and I feel it's obvious that I've been seen...out of courtesy. I've already had drivers that had their high beams on switch to low after I made the switch from steady to flash. That was unexpected, but a nice surprise.

Speaking specifically to headlights, flashing is a way to stand out from all the other white lights in a driver's vision, especially applicable in urban/suburban areas with a lot of lighting. How effective it is, all we have to go on is anecdotal evidence, unless there is a decent study someone knows of. Obviously, in these areas, one needs a light less to see than to be seen, which is why a low-powered flashing light might be of some help. Low power shouldn't f up your own vision.

Personally, I don't use a front flashing light because I have noticed that my solid, higher-powered light pretty much drowns it out anyway...though at times when I am feeling like I am just not visible enough from the front, I have used an amber blinky, which seems to be a bit more noticeable. For the rear, I have a combo of one solid light and one blinky. But these are based on my current rural/x-burban commute. If you take anything away from this thread, it should be that your lighting should be what works best for you in your unique conditions. It's not a one-size-fits-all thing.

Context is important with lights, I think you'd have to be ignorant to run really bright lights on blink along a MUP. Slow down and keep the lights pointed downwards.

I think small blinkies aren't doing any harm, esp. as daytime running lights, as every car around here has DRL. I'm riding to work for night shift now, so while I have my lights on steady, the few cars I pass don't seem to give a rat's ass about my lights.

I think of the whole thread, this first response was the best.

I live in Minneapolis, where I see quite a few bikes on the street when I ride.

For rear lights, I really do like the blinkies. I find the constant quick blinking patterns on the regular $15-$30 tail lights the best. They identify a bike as a bike, without being obnoxious. I'm not a fan of the exotic blinking patterns, but they aren't that bad either.

For front lights, like the guy I quoted said the low powered front lights on blink mode are great, and don't cause me any issues with being blinded or anything while I'm in my car. The blinking mode on a low powered light makes it easy to identify the light as belonging to a bike rather than a car.

For high powered front lights I usually find blinking mode obnoxious for 2 reasons -
1. It can be blinding
2. When I'm the person on the bike, it makes it difficult for me to see anything myself because my light keeps turning on/off/on/off/etc. If I need a high powered light, putting that light on strobe rather defeats the point of having the light.

The absolute most obnoxious thing I've seen is a high powered light, blinking, on the MUP. At least on the street oncoming cars are a lane over from you. On the MUP no there's need for that, and it's really really blinding. Can't imagine how annoying a blinking high powered helmet light would be.

I flash whenever I ride. Don't do any group rides anymore but that would be the only case where I wouldn't flash. It's all about being seen and getting home safely.

Ride safe,

Jeff

+1

You are so wrong, I do a lot of night riding. In the winter around 70% of my commutes and training rides are when it is dark or at dawn/dusk. Feel free to ignore science and facts, but please don't confuse them with anecdotal "experience" and call them "opinions". I know that some people _feel_ more safe with blinking lights, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Some people wear lucky charms for the same reason.

There is absolute zero research that shows that blinking lights are an advantage.
There are several studies that indicate that flashing lights are actual unsafe to use.

This is why flashing lights for cyclist have been banned for decades if not more, in most countries with strong cycling commuting traditions. This is also why no other road vehicle uses flashing front or rear lights. If there really was an advantage why don't motorcycles or cars that moves at much higher speeds use flashing front or rear lights?


--
Regards

Because flashing lights are typically found on vehicles stopped or going at a significantly different speed than the normal flow of traffic.

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.