I regularly commute in the dark and, quite frankly, prefer it over riding in traffic during the day. I'm lit up like a Christmas tree, or, as a runner pointed out to me last week, "a strange alien being." If a car were to hit me, they would not be able to claim they didn't see me.

I have a generator hub on the front that drives a German LED headlight and taillight. It is bright enough by itself to ride on an unlighted MUP. Because the taillight is German, it is a solid light.

So on the rear, that isn't enough for me so I run dueling Planet Bike Turbo Flashes. They're irritating and with the 2 strobes running out of sync, I cannot be missed. I've had cars roll down their window at stop lights to ask about the lights and thank me (I'm sure a few cuss me out, too, but those I ignore).

As for side lighting, I added reflective tape to the spokes (http://www.rei.com/product/808967/li...wer-reflectors ). When I put them on, my attitude was "it can't hurt". They work well even 2 years later with a coating of road dirt and mud. And, of course, my panniers and jacket have reflective tape (but note: reflective tape only works at a short distance. By the time a car sees your reflective tape, it is probably too late -- use lights if you can).

I also ride with a light and motion 360 on my helmet. Better than a horn -- focusing the headlight into the interior of the car/truck coming at you from the side makes you immediately visible. I've had cars coming from cross streets clearly not have seen me slam on their brakes after I "flash them"....of course, if they had *stopped* at the stop sign...but I digress. The L&M is nice because it is a USB charge -- I can easily recharge it at work if I run down the charge (one charge gets me about 2 hours).

Anyway....there is a lot of great lighting out there. Some of it expensive (the Light and Motion isn't cheap, nor was my generator setup), but there is a lot of less expensive kit (like my Planet Bike Turbo Flashes) that aren't that expensive and work well.