I now know why we all (perhaps I should say "nearly" all) ride with our lights on. Coming out of melb today in the tunnel, & just ahead in another lane, was an old harley without lights. It was a dark coloured bike & the rider was in dark clothing...gee, he was almost invisable amongst all the trucks & heavy traffic. If he has seen what it looked like from my perspective, I think he wouldn't have hesitated to turn those lights on. It was scary, & I wasn't even on the thing. Brings a whole new meaning to the expression; ride safe.

Should have been wearing his Hi-Vis gear

Good luck to him; I had THREE (3) lights glaring and loud pipes on a wide open road on a bright sunny arvo and still got cleaned up by an old Moll who reckons she didn't see me. The lights help I spose but don't EVER forget your safety is ENTIRELY up ta you!

 

The other day I was heading towards a hilly area and in the distance (coming down the hill) I could see a motorbike coming towards me - the headlight really stood out. It took a while after that to realise there was a little blue car following behind him. I suppose everything can blend in given the right backgorund, and the lights do help imo.

Got to agree with Isaac on safety being entirely your responsibility. Also agree that under certain conditions lights-on makes you more visible, though my experiences from the days prior to lights-on being mandatory left me rather convinced that it did not make much difference - just as many people seemed to want to run me down with lights on as they did with them off...