I have used my light in a passive aggressive way by subtly aiming it at a rear view mirror at a four way stop when a driver was being a real idiot to another driver. Otherwise I am careful where the helmet light is directed.

Blinking lights allow higher maximum instantaneous illumination at a lower average power expenditure compared to steady illumination. For battery powered blinkies, this means the light can be bright enough to get noticed over background lighting clutter or at longer range without draining the batteries too fast.

That said, I am also a firm believer in continuous visibility for improved tracking when at relatively close ranges, when motorists' accuracy at estimating closing speeds is most important.

Therefore, I always use bright rear reflectors in addition to a rear blinking lamp. At closer ranges, the reflectors provide good continuous visibility while the blinky provides good long range conspicuity.

For the front, however, I am less interested in very long range conspicuity than I am the accuracy of motorists' estimation of my closing speed. In my experience, under conditions with little or no overhead street lights, drivers who are preparing to cross my path on the roadway are reliably conservative about not pulling out in front of me when I use a bright, steady white 250 lumen headlamp mounted on my handlebars. I cannot think of any situations where I felt that I wasn't visible enough to drivers in front of me or that drivers ahead of me underestimated my speed.

I think it's possible that under urban condititions with lots of overhead lights to provide some tracking visibility of cyclists wearing bright clothing, an energy-challenged headlight might be more attention-getting in flash mode while ensuring adequate range, therefore being a benefit. However, my own commutes take me through enough dark areas that I need a bright enough headlamp to see the roadway, and my Cygolite Expilion's lithium ion battery capacity is adequate to cover my entire commute a few times over, so I prefer to run mine steady whenever visibility is an issue.

Some pedestrians have remarked that my 250 lumen headlamp, while being aimed at a reasonable down angle, was painfully bright. However, I think the main reason for this is that some people tend to stare at bike headlamps out of curiosity, while they know better than to do that for much brighter automobile headlamps.

I agree that a light is useful at a cross section.

However, it doesn't need to be flashing to be visible.

On a straight road, esp if you're in like a bike lane, it is simply unnecessary.

And as for long-range visibility, you can probably see the car and get out of the way far before it matters that a flashing light gets their attn.

Really, flashers on the front have no excuse. Please stop! I'm a cyclist and I want to kick the wheel of every guy who has a flashing front light, I honestly want them to crash and die, they suck so much.

I think once the nice weather returns and there are more cycling commuters back on the road, I might drive my truck to work for a spell...at least until I spot a cyclist with a blinking headlight...at which time I'm gonna stop, fall out onto the ground, and do my version of an epileptic seizure...aka the dead bug. Yeah, I know, I'm a freakin loony toon...but the look on the cyclist's face as I froth at the mouth should be priceless. Note to self...take a camera.

After reading more of this thread, I am convinced the best way to handle visibility is to use the same color coding as cars, and motorcycles, and in a similar pattern. This will ensure visibility and recognition as a vehicle on the road, as well as not be distracting or obnoxious. I think i am going to try and add small amber flashers, of very low brightness on the sides of my front and rear fork and continue with steady main lights. Does anyone know where to get some of those small blinkies in amber color?

I run a solid LED on the rear of my bike, and a blinkie on the rear of my helmet. I always run the solid on my bike, and run the blinkie on the helmet in all but ideal daytime visibility.

I run a blinkie flashlight on the front of my bike, and a solid flashlight on my helmet. I run the blinkie in all but ideal daytime visibility, and the solid helmet light when it's dark enough that I would want a light to see stuff.

The forward blinkie probably saved my life yesterday afternoon. I had just moved past the left side of a tractor-trailer (it was turning right from a single lane) to turn left, and was slowly (barely moving) rolling to the corner so I could see cross traffic - when a cement truck decided he was going to turn left onto my road, cutting the corner closer than he should have - right where I was. Just before he was committed to the turn, he saw me and hit his brakes, and waved me on (I guess he thought I was going to dash in front of him, but I wasn't about to).

So... forward blinkies get a big "Yes" vote for me. I'll turn it off or solid when I get to a MUP, but when playing in traffic, I'll run the risk of causing epileptic seizures to anybody who sees them.

BTW, the person who taught me how to ride, and instilled a love of riding has epilepsy, as do two of my brothers. None of them are permitted to drive - in fact, most places won't issue you a license if you are prone to seizures. The idea of blinking lights causing seizures in oncoming drivers is mostly horse-squeeze, since they're not supposed to be driving at all.


Next up for lights: Amber/yellow tire stem LED lights, and a MagicShine once the battery issues are resolved.

I passed a guy on the trail this morning flashing 2 high powered zillion lumen lights at me. Just shook my head in disbelief. I run a small $15 light in flash (to let people know I'm a bike) and my mains on steady, I haven't had any complaints yet.

Do you bother asking before wheelsucking someone you don't know?

I think by behind the wheel he means, behind the steering wheel of his car...

I'm not worried about making friends, just keeping my own life viable. Bright and flashing - front and rear.

I'm not worried about making friends, I'm just trying to get from Point A to Point B as fast as possible, and if bikers are slowing me down in my pickup they just better get the hell out of my way.

I'm with AdamDZ. I'm alive because of the strobe function on my Cateye 610. I even had an incident where a car pulled almost into me from an off ramp without seeing my 610. That is the driving dead! I also have a not-as-bright dynamo light with LED, headlight, and stand light. I have Trek rear flashie by Spanninga and an LD1000 from Cateye on flash day or night. The LD1000 has side LEDs as does the Trek. When I figure out the mount, I have a police take-off LED amber strobe for the rear. The whole system gives me redundancy for the times the batteries die on one of the lights. And it does happen.

On a commute you're likely to repeat, even those who don't care about making friends should care about making enemies.

Ooooh yeahhh. My safety is paramount, but sometimes my over zealous practices in trying to achieve that safety can be counterproductive, and actually garner a lower level of safety that I was originally trying to attain.

I guess it depends on individual circumstances too.

My commute is all road in the morning. the only thing I deal with is cars and never see another bike. OK, occasionally a sidewalk salmon. I run flashing so cars, particularely crossing vehicles see me.
My PM commute is 75 road/25MUP. My chances of having another passing bike on the MUP this time of year (it's cold and dark) are at best slim, mostly none. Summer is a bit of traffic, mostly neighborhood cruisers, and I'm not running a light then anyway.

If a flashing light designed to be easily visible makes you an enemy to someone, you were just looking for any excuse to be a jackass anyway.