A few years ago saw someone lying in a crosswalk — who had been hit by a hit-and-run driver — at dusk, in the rain, during commute hours.
I jumped off the bus. I had my one little CR123 flashlight with me.
I heard the sirens, someone had phoned in and told her not to move and she was holding still and aware so I — stood over her in the street and stopped traffic — stopped a three way intersection.
On strobe, that little light was enough to halt multiple vehicles and make approaching vehicles stop, back up to the last intersection and take another route.
I stood there until the emergency vehicles arrived.
She would have been run over several more times — likely I’d have been run over as well — but for the strobe light.
Try it yourself in any crosswalk on any busy street in the dark during a rainy rush hour — which means wintertime, for most folks, so you’ll have to remember this in six months.
Strobe, especially waved up and down/side to side, will get a distracted driver to suddenly focus and after a couple of seconds put on the brakes.
Steady light, even waved up and down/side to side — doesn’t get you noticed for several additional seconds
UNLESS it’s really bright — and if you shine a bright light into a driver’s eyes, in the dark, in the rain, in rush hour —
Do ya feel lucky?
I love the dark and spending hours camping in dark night areas and seeing the stars, and meteor trails, and satellites
and kangaroo mice and toads with their jeweled amazing eyes
and all the rest of what comes out at night when we’re not being bright enough to stop traffic.
And I kind of like having the confidence that I can stop traffic if I need to.
Each to his own.