Cyclists have been urged to check their lights as winter approaches after 40% of people said they had been dazzled by badly fitted lamps.

The number of people riding at night without lights has dropped in the last 15 years as LED lamps, which last longer and are less vulnerable to rain damage, have become commonplace.

But the bright white bulbs have created a new problem as other road users have complained about being blinded by oncoming bicycles.

The motoring organisation ANWB said people should check their lights were properly fitted as part of its annual “switch your lights on” campaign to coincide with the start of winter time.

Spokesman Stephan Grout said the problem was worse in the Netherlands than other countries because of the much larger numbers of cyclists on the road.

“The same question was asked in nine other countries and the average percentage there is 13%. You could say that this is a typically Dutch problem which reflects the fact that we are a real cycling country.”

In August a cyclist was assaulted in Utrecht by a man who grabbed him by the throat and tried to wrench the lights from his fatbike after complaining that they were shining in his eyes.

Dutch law requires cyclists to use lights after dark or in poor light, but there are few rules about how they should be fitted or how bright they should be. The law says lights must be white or yellow

Other countries, such as Germany, have stricter limits on cycle lamps, but the ANWB has called for common European standards to be introduced.

Cyclists often dazzle other road users because their lights are set too high, but Grout said: “There are no limits on how high lights should be installed.

“We urge cyclists to switch to good quality fixed cycle lamps and in general for more enforcement checks to improve road safety.”