[ricer1]

So why do motorcyclists have them on all the time?

Because it's the law.

The light makes them more visible. Many drivers simply don't have the time to maintain situation awareness of ALL traffic behind/before/beside them.

A friend of mine has a nice big Yamaha with 3 headlights and a stupid driver turned right in front of him anyway (causing $4000 damage to the bike). Fortunately, he AND his wife walked away from the bike with just minor scratches. The card driver said, "I just didn't see him..."

[petercooper]

Yes I know all that- the same theory applies to cars- it makes them more visible to other drivers - that's the point muawiyah.