The idea of striking up a traditional safety flare on the side of the road does not sound like a good time. It's kind of like holding onto a nuclear-powered super sparkler. Not fun. Plus, traditional flares burn out in about 15 minutes. The Flameless flare has a magnetic base. Your normal road flare doesn't, so if you put it on the side of the road while you're trying to change a tire, it could get blown around by the wind or passing cars. Great, now the nuclear-powered super sparkler is mobile.