My MX-5 has LED headlights - pretty good actually. As original equipment they are self levelling. If I have a criticism it is that the range is a bit short on dip, but the cut-off is very sharp and I suspect they don't therefore over-dazzle, except of course in the cresting-a-rise situation where all of these extra bright jobs can be an issue.

I haven't looked at the cheapo upgrade kits, but I suspect they don't come with the self-levelling that all the proper HIDs and LEDs do.

There is a shocking number of people around with hardly any lights working. I encountered two in one night recently with what appeared to be one main beam as the sole light on the front - presumably not dipped because it was the only one left.

I nearly ran into a transit as I turned into a junction recently, which I had taken for a motor cycle - one headlight on the nearside, not even a position light on the offside.

There is a shocking number of people around with hardly any lights working. I encountered two in one night recently with what appeared to be one main beam as the sole light on the front - presumably not dipped because it was the only one left.

This is the time of year when they are most noticeable - evenings are getting darker and all the bulbs which have quietly failed over the summer are becoming more noticeable. As winter progresses some of them get picked up at an MoT if the drivers haven't spotted that they can't see very well.

Yes there are plenty around, a taxi in front of me last night had one rear and only one brake light, he travelled around 8 miles with the odd person including me flashing main beam to warn them

never took any notice and i`m certain driver was on the phone.

another annoying thing is cycle riders out wearing dark clothes and diving across road in front of cars without lights

In the "see and be seen" debate, let's not forget pedestrians, some of the worst offenders in these dark autumn/winter evenings.

Well, yes, but. Of course those offenders could take better precautions, but if you're only crossing the road to pick up a takeaway, do you really want to get kitted up in hi-viz? And I'm sure most people get behind the wheel now and again (or have done in the past), so there won't be that many who are unaware of the driver's difficulty.

Unfortunately the onus remains on the driver to avoid any obstacle in front of him, because he is the one in charge of the lethal weapon. The answer isn't just to make driving lamps brighter. Much of the problem is caused by all sorts of other distracting illumination, especially in busy streets.

I think making driving lamps brighter is possibly causing more danger, oncoming traffic with retina burning qualities leaves you temporarily blind once they pass until your eyes readjust to the dark again (mainly in unlit areas like country lanes) then of course there are the ones that drive everywhere on mainbeam too or with badly adjusted lights that could light up a plane in the sky.

Discussing this with my garage-owner mate I said a lot of the badly aimed headlamps seem to be on Fords. He just bought a used Fiesta (temporary replacement for his 4x4 written off by a careless driver) and had to reset both headlamps.

He says underbonnet access is very difficult and the bulbs have three very small prongs which it is hard to locate properly - they may connect enough to run the lamp but can be misaligned.

Also cheap aftermarket bulbs may not have the filament in the right position.