I am using a poly body housing lamp from Carquest that has a lense that pops on and off. Nice thing about these is the durability of the housing, lense, and the low price compared to other light options. I have mine mounted on the rear crossmember. While I have destroyed lenses and housings, for the most part, I can get two years or so out of a body, and at least a year from a lense, unless I have a run of poor luck, which has been known to happen.
Some people use a flush mount lense assembly, commonly found on over the road trucks, and mount it into the body in the rear fender area, out of the reach of rocks and ledges. This is a metal housing unit, that bolts to the body, and has a single red lense. Another one is the longer rectangle unit found on trailers that is set into a rubber housing and is a sealed unit. These could be set into the crossmember, similar to how someones aftermarket bumper is designed(sorry I can not remember who makes it, but I know I have seen them) and seem to work out well also.
There are lots of pictures out here of the different styles used.
Oh, and while driving lessons may help with some things, if you have something mounted in a position that it can be damaged, odds on, it will end up that way...
Good luck!
-Steve
