dedhed

Generally during daylight hours it is legal within certain parameters of modulation. Also note they use modulation rather than true flashing.

https://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcy...ulator-law.pdf

Maelochs

As I said above, based on personal observation, I can spot a cyclist with a flashing front light more easily in daylight than a cyclist with a steady front light---I assume this is due to the well-understood principle that the eye or rather the brain, associates intermittent light levels with motion and thus assigns more importance to something moving.

These observations were e not part of controlled test, with the same cyclist riding the same stretch of roads repeatedly at the same time of day ... but then, I am not presenting this as scientific evidence.

I nay case, pretty much every one of us is going to whatever he or she prefers, regardless of what else is said. And on top of that, it's only Bike Forum, after all.

russtopherb

Count me among the "steady front, flashing rear" riders.

gsa103

Most BMW drivers don't opt for that feature. I think its a pretty expensive item....

KJ43

Steady front in low light conditions only, flashing back at all times.

BCAC

Both blinking.

jon c. 

Headlight, when I use it, flashing at ~300 lumens during the day, steady at 600 or 800 at night. (figures as advertised.) I always use it in the city. On daytime local rides from my house I don't always bother.

Tail light is always flashing during the day. At night I'll flash the lower powered planet bike light or run the brighter cygolite on steady. But I ride only low traffic rural roads at night. A higher power flashing tail light bounces off the trees and overwhelms the road at night. Other conditions might require other choices.

DeadGrandpa

I like my flashing front light. It's not blindingly bright, but it's purpose is to attract the attention of the driver in the second car approaching in the oncoming lane. Frequently, that guy is wanting to pass the car in front of him, coming towards me, which requires that he enter my lane of traffic, head-on. A flashing headlight gets his attention better than a constant light. But my fiance rides with me, and her light is constant, so we have both bases covered, whether she is in front or following. Legal or illegal, I've had sheriff's and town police pass us from both directions. They didn't object to my light flashing. I don't think they want the paperwork from a bicycle/automobile crash. Our headlights aren't that bright so as to be blinding to motorists.
Edit: we both use Garmin Varia radar blinky lights, on flash. We only ride during the daylight.

veganbikes

I know you like your flashing front light most people who use flashing front lights like them. The problem is other people. It is not really a legal issue it is an issue of sight and being hard to see with flashing lights in your eyes. If it is dim enough to not cause so many issues then what is the point of it in the first place? If it isn't it can cause problems.

Litespud

So your position is that lights are either bright enough to blind you or too dim to be noticed.......nothing in between?

Germany_chris

Most bike lights do not have a shaped beam which is the problem and those that do people don't want to pay for. You're a vehicle on the road therefore your lights should be like all other vehicle lights not some random high lumen cree in waterproof case.

Maelochs

Ummmm .... by that logic, my wheels should be like other vehicles' wheels, too?

I say, shaped beam or not, my lights should be adjusted so i can operate safely without endangering others or interfering in their operation.

It is mystifying why anyone should have to even say such things. it is like we get so far into debating we forget reality and common sense.

This stuff is as easy as riding a bicycle. Why do we debate the obvious?

Germany_chris

The problem with adjusting a flood not to blind is you now don't have the right light for riding. Good lights cost good money they're not 20 on Amazon, though those 20 lights are great for helmet lights, lights for changing tubes, packing bags etc.

msu2001la

This depends on where you ride. Steady lights are not as effective in the city, IMO. There are too many other lights/distractions to compete with.

I flash front and rear when riding on city streets. If I'm out on a suburban road with lower light levels, I'll switch to steady front, but usually leave the rear flashing.

msu2001la

On the topic of lighting, I also find it annoying when other cyclists are riding on car-free forest preserve trails with super-high powered headlights that blind oncoming cyclists.
I've encountered oncoming cyclists with headlights so bright that I've had to slow down/stop because I couldn't see anything as they approached.

Litho dbh

Yes, this me as well. Flash front and rear. I ride city commuting. Street lights are usually good enough for seeing the road. My blinkys front and rear are so others see me. And I'm careful to not point the headlight too high. I want to be ID'd as a bike by that blinking, NOT as a car with one headlight out.

veganbikes

The issue is flashing lights.

Litespud

The point remains - is it your position that there is no middle ground between flashing lights bright enough to blind you and flashing lights too dim to be seen?

Maelochs

Wow .... it's getting so that almost no one takes the bait around here, any more.

jsilvia

Day time I run flashing lights in the front and back, At night or in low light conditions I run solid on the front light, solid on the Helmet light and fleshing rear lights.

Sy Reene

I'm waiting for news stories on car drivers epileptic seizures being triggered by blinky bike lights. Ok, not really, but I have wondered if my Varia could cause something like this, since these lights go kinda crazy when cars approach.
https://road.cc/content/news/13526-e...ng-bike-lights

richardalan1975

Yep for sure!

prairieguy

Distracted driving is the big cyclist killer in this day and age, people. Flashing lights, especially in daytime conditions, can make a big dang safety difference.

In the region around Kansas City, in about a 6-year period we had three separate accidents where very visible cyclists riding in daytime and excellent lighting conditions on flat wide roads with great visibility and no significant traffic were hit from behind and killed by drivers who HAD to have seen them from a long way away. We know that one driver admitted he was texting, one driver admitted he was entering an address in his car GPS device, and the third driver claimed he was arguing with a passenger in his car (bonus points - he hit and killed both a grandfather and granddaughter who were riding on the right side of an empty 4-lane road).

The real point here is that merely being very visible, without more, is not enough. Distracted drivers can see well enough to keep their cars on the road just fine without really "seeing" cyclists. A bright rear-facing strobe, though, will wake drivers up.

An earlier poster mentioned how flashing or changing lights grab our attention. We all know that - emergency vehicles, for just one obvious example, depend on flashing lights. But my favorite example about this is school buses: many across the country have white strobe lights on top. Stop and think about that. Something so huge and visible as a school bus needs a flashing light to help make it visible? The answer is yes, it's obviously very helpful for safety, and to wake drivers up.

I urge powerful rear-facing strobes for daytime riding, though there are lots of choices about the kind of flashing or interspersed flashing and solid that good taillights provide. I have given several good taillights to friends who are cyclists just because I think those lights really will help them be safer on the roads in this age of distracted drivers.

2WheelsNYC

Front steady (unless battery low), rear flashing.

downtube42

My commute bike has generator lights on steady in all conditions, front and rear. I add rear blinkie based on lighting and traffic conditions - helmet and frame mount.

My rando bike has the same lighting capability, but i generally turn the dyno lights off in full daylight conditions. I'll use the blinkies if I'm solo and I feel traffic conditions warrant extra visibility, that is if legal where I'm riding.