I'm not riding this time of year. I walk as much as I can, but also drive some. And as a driver I am veeeery grateful for bikers/walkers with flashing lights. And also reflective strips. It's scary when suddenly a dark figure appears just 10 feet in front of you, only visible as a shadow in the lights of an oncoming car. Even a teensy steady bike light (maybe running out of power) helps some, but a flashing one helps more. And folks with a reflector vest, bright yellow with big reflective stripes on it, can be seen from as far away as my own lights, or those of a vehicle ahead of me, can reach. I do NOT veer over towards them. In the dark, they're competing for attention with other spots of light -- oncoming vehicles, street lighting (which in some cases can distract as much as it lights up), xmas decorations. What's unlit tends to disappear into the void. And remember that, even with your lights on, you're invisible to oncoming traffic when you come out from behind some other vehicle. So I slow down so as to have better stop time when the inevitable surprises appear in the dark, but boy do they scare me sometimes. Case in point a few days ago: Black-clad biker, with no lights or reflectors, and no helmet, swerves out from behind a parked vehicle on a largely single-lane road (due to parking on one side) and head-on into my lane! He was darned lucky I was going slow and managed to stop!