The panel lights are typically white but there can also be a red "dome" light that can be brought into use to read charts, etc. Also a red lens flashlight is highly recommended.
Good point about the ambient light. Most, if not all of my night driving is a 40 mile commute through rural NW Oklahoma on two-lane roads. I can definitely see where brighter dash lights would enhance visibility in city night-driving.
Another thought, and I have absolutely no facts to back this, but a guy might be careful about switching the led off and on rapidly. Even though the flashing isn't consciously detectable, it might be like the subliminal advertising in days gone by and it seems I read something somewhere about flashing lights inducing nausea. And for another aviation reference, flying with the propeller arc passing over the sun is known to cause nausea from the rapid flashing even though it's virtually undetectable (2 blade prop at 2400 rpm is 80 flashes per second). It's been quite a while since ground school and training so I might be delusional on this. Anybody else?