The amount of times I have nearly been killed riding in bike lanes, with high vis gear in broad daylight is the reason I have high lumen strobes. It sucks that it will annoy some people, but if it gets the attention of the dimwits diddling their cell phones, I get to stay alive another day.
then i'd ask the question how vigilant are you in watching approaching drivers and intersections?
i've run into this debate before where my prevailing opinion is not well received by many others here on nsmb, but as the cyclists, we're the ones at risk in a collision with a vehicle. i try to be as hyper vigilant as possible when communting and am constantly scanning side streetks, laneways, driveways - basically any place a car can pop out - for danger. things like looking through back windows to see if there's a body in the driver's seat that may fling a door open are important too.
yes, it's a hell of a lot of work and requires constant processing, but commuting on a bike, especially in city traffic, requires far different riding technique than going for a sunday stroll on a gravel path thru a park. in an ideal world we wouldn't have to worry about these things as all other road users would be following the rules and doing exactly what their supposed to, but we all know that doesn't happen.from my observations on some of the busiest bike routes in the city, too many cyclists are not doing enough of the right things that will keep them safe.
i guess the debate here comes down to weighing the risk of easily being seen vs creating confusion and hostility and weighing that against one's own riding technique and actions. personally i think we're all better off in the long run to to do things that don't piss drivers off or create animosity, not trust other road users and depend only upon ourselves for our own safety.
edit - the same can be said for pedestrian activity as well.
We don't know what our limits are, so to start something with the idea of being limited actually ends up limiting us.
Ellen Langer