You don't need to care how you look to others as you ride, if some bazaar color makes you feel safe then wear and ride happy because if you don't feel safe then you won't ride. Personally I don't get to crazy about color but try to find bright neon type colors when I can. The only time I make sure I have a neon type of color on is when I know I will be out after dusk then I put on my neon lime green safety vest I got for $4 at Home Depot. I'm also older and married so I don't care if some smoking hot chick rides by on her bike and smirks about how I'm dressed! And Walmart does offer a good selection of cheap day glow color 100% polyester jerseys both short and sleeveless and they do stand out. But I've found closeout sale prices on real cycling jerseys that were within $5 of a Walmart brand if you look around November but stuff goes fast. I did recently splurge a bit (for a polyester jersey) and bought an odd duck jersey last week that looks like a tuxedo from Nashbar so when I ride to church on Sundays I'm now dressed for the occasion! I don't mind spending $ for wool but I still look for sales, usually at Sierra Trading Post; I like wool for touring.

There is a jersey made by Columbia called the Omni Freeze Zero which I have never heard of anyone trying, it's suppose to be the coolest jersey to wear in hot humid environments. http://www.columbia.com/Men%27s-Free...efault,pd.html

I was wearing a fire-engine red jersey on brilliantly-bright autumn day - sun was at the driver's back - but he just focused on making his left turn and "beating" on coming car traffic - I did not register as a "threat".

I sure got him - my hip dented his door and my elbow and shoulder broke out a passenger side window. Of course i did fracture about 20 bones - but it was worth it - I really got him.........

Would a bright flashing white light have changed things? I don't know . Never expect respect from a motorist - it could be fatal........

Oh, I don't know about that. If you broke 20 bones it sounds like he got you. :injured:

I'm assuming the driver was going the opposite direction and then pulled a left and cut you off. That is most unfortunate. Glad you're still around to tell the tale. Chances are the driver didn't see you or did and just misjudged your speed. It happens. A guy I work with was killed the same way last year riding his motorcycle. Who knows if a front strobe would of helped. One thing is certain, It wouldn't hurt to use one. In the mean time you might want to be more on guard in places where vehicles make turns. As you already know by now people driving cars don't always see the cyclist riding down the other side of the road, particularly when they are making left turns. Some people get so immersed in what they're doing that they develop a type of tunnel vision. These people are a cyclist's worst nightmare.

For quite a few years cars now are required to have daylight running lights on, yet those cars are still involved in accidents. So maybe or maybe not using flashing light would have saved you, but you can't use a light and think you'll be protected against stupid people. Your biggest protection is riding defensively and staying alert, not some light or some colored clothing, those are just aids.

They have DRLs because they've been proven to REDUCE accidents, not because they're a guarantee to stop them altogether. There's no guarantee but we do what we can. Of course it would be idiotic to say "I don't have to pay any attention because I'm wearing my magic protection vest" but that doesn't mean that using visibility enhancement equipment is pointless.

In keeping with the last two posts; Anytime I approach places where I see cars either entering the roadway or making possible turns I go into " super heads-up " mode. Even though I might be running a really bright front daytime strobe I don't assume a car just entering the intersection knows I'm there unless I'm able to make eye contact. Some people are just so much in a hurry that they really are in their own little world. The biggest danger zones are roads that allow unregulated left turns, exit and entry ramps. In those areas you really do have to be prepared for anything.

In my own case I feel I'm pretty good at spotting trouble if it's in front of me. My biggest threat ( I feel ) is from the rear. If someone comes at me from behind ( or my blind area ) I figure there isn't too much I can do about it as a cyclist other than try to ride to the right as far as I can and use the best visibility aids I can find. This is one of the reasons why I don't like to ride high speed roadways ( > 40mph speed limit ) that don't have good shoulders. Staying safe on a bike is not easy nowadays. Even with your best effort you can still be mowed down ( and likely the doff that hits you will claim he didn't see you. )

Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough, I didn't say guarantee to keep one safe, which wasn't my point I was trying to make, the point I was trying to make, but obviously failed to do, was that it's up to you to keep yourself safe and not expect a light to somehow do that when people are not paying attention while driving.

Laws vary but amber should be fine for front or rear. At night, you would need a red light either instead of, or in addition to an amber rear, but I've seen very little reason why an amber can't be used. Obviously, many vehicles use red for hazard lights as they don't have amber on the rear. Using amber has the benefit of not only being brighter, for the same wattage, but not being confused/blending in with brake lights more than the emergency vehicle aspect.

What is illegal in every place I've researched, and for sound reason of being reserved for emergency vehicles, is alternating flashing red (or white on front) lights. In many places, maybe all of the US, front flashing white lights are technically allowed as vehicle turn signals (which double as front 4-way flashers), again as long as they aren't alternating. Alternating flashing amber lights are pretty easy to get away with in any location/position.

^^ I rode around a lot at night with a flashing front amber light then later white flashing light (in addition to the headlight) and never once had a cop question it either in California or Indiana. I no longer use a flashing light except for the helmet light when riding through the city. I did try to upgrade my front flasher to a Knog Binder but I went through 2 of them in a week, then I tried the Serfas Thunderbolt but one of the damn bands that straps the light on snapped after a month of using it, so now I don't use anything for a flasher except for the helmet light.