bike lights

[Kaizen]

Since I don't drive, from a drivers perspective - are flashing light on bikes good or bad?

I think they're a good idea. At night, bikes are hard enough to spot at the best of times (especially since most around here don't have any lights at all !), but a flashing light on a bike gets my attention more than a stationary one does.

[tim_n]

irrespective of whether they're illegal, flashing LEDs are a bad idea - mainly because they distract drivers coming up behind you (oooo, pretty lights...) and if you're busy concentrating on other things it's easy to miss a flash.

It's not illegal to use one with a flash if you have a constant one too. Also, make sure you've got some reflective clothing on :- P It looks stupid, but if you ever get the chance to see what someone looks like with a car parked on their head, you'll understand why it's a good idea to wear geeky gear (and I'm not talking megatokyo t-shirts)

[herulach]

When im driving i find flashing fronts incredibly annoying, but flashing rears are a lot easier to spot. The only time i put the front on flash is when im going round the outside of traffic jams, and as an aside, what the hell is with people going down the inside of a queue of traffic turning left, thats just plain stupid.

[blueball]

Without a steady light as well they can be bad. With a steady light you have some chance of judging distance, with the flashing light on its own it becomes more difficult to judge the distance from the bike.

In short they are good for catching your eye but please use them in conjunction with a steady light to aid other road users

eye thenk ewe