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I take the legally dubious route of having a bright light on full whack and angling it up slightly when riding around the anti-bike haven full of cataract-infested Honda-driving pensioners that's Harrogate.
If they're having to shield their eyes at a junction I'm reasonably confident that they won't pull out in front of me.
Used this set for years. Combination of Constant and flash.
https://exposurelights.com/products/bike/light-sets/trace-tracer
I really cant fault them at all. Plus brilliant customer service from Exposure when I had a slight issue.
Steady lights F+R, suplemented on the rear with a flashing one, and ideally another red light (Steady or flashing) on the back of your lid.
A Flasher on the front is more likely to dazzle drivers IME and TBH just because a driver can't see propoerly, there's no guaruntee that they won't still attempt to pull out all a flashing light does is mess with their estimation of distance and speed...
A forward facing white helmet light in traffic of any sort is a definate No No IMO. I like to be able to look about with a white beam of light following your head movements there's a pretty good liklihood of you blinding oncoming drivers, those puling out of junctions, even catching the mirrors of the car in front, it's the opposite of being "Safe"...
The other thing often overlooked is retro-reflective stuff, anything Red/White/Amber stuck on the bike, body or lid that can bounce headlights back and highlight your presence to a driver is a bonus, there's no batteries to run out so it always works (*assuming their lights do). adhesive backed reflective tapes can be bought by the meter on fleabay/amazon for relatively little...
I do far more driving than cycling on the road and reflectors are a major help in seeing cyclists (and pedestrians - a nightmare with the fashion for dark clothing). Those jackets that are all reflective surface are the best, but also pedal and spoke reflectors, and bits on shoes. Powerful headlights are more likely to blind me. Ideally the rider would be floodlit, but I can't work out how to avoid dazzling the rider. Or some sort of glowing flourescent jacket. Small points of light aren't so good, even when they are bright.
I think Mol’s point is better applied to front lights, where a quick look from a junction may be all they take and so the light needs to be visible or better still flashing within that window
That's a good point of which I had not thought. However, flickering lights on the front present a different problem for the rider though - I can't stand all the flashing road signs even if there's street lighting.
www.seesense.cc - great kit and great service 👍