Modern car headlights are too bright and are distracting drivers, the RAC has warned, as it is feared that "energy efficient" light bulbs are behind a rise in complaints.

Some 15 per cent of drivers have suffered a near-miss due to the brightness of some new car headlights, according to a new report by the motoring body.

Following a rise in complaints the Department for Transport set up a United Nations working group to explore why more drivers felt car headlights had become overly bright.

The rise in popularity of LED lights are among the potential causes of the problem being explored by the group.

LED lamps produce light using light-emitting diodes and have a lifespan and electrical efficiency which are several times greater than incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps.

Lighting experts said it was "no coincidence" that makers of upmarket cars have been fitting more car headlights with efficient LED lights over the past decade, instead of traditional halogen bulbs.

Stephen Dixon, a lighting expert at the Quality Light Source Factory, said the rise of LED lights in car headlights was likely to be why people perceiving them to be brighter.

He said: "LED light is more directional. Rather than being big spread of light which comes from a halogen bulb, LED light is more focused. It is also a traditionally brighter light which appears as blue white, hence why it appears brighter in the dark."