Best and worst motorways and A roads in England ranked by drivers - how did YOUR local major route score?

• e-mail

Drivers have had their say on the best and worst motorways and A roads in England - and it's one of the busiest routes in the country that's received the lowest score from disgruntled motorists.

The A19, which runs parallel to the A1 in the North East and connects Seaton Burn, near Newcastle, with Doncaster, was the highest ranked major trunk road in a survey of more than 9,000 drivers carried out by independent watchdog Transport Focus. It scored 85 per cent for overall satisfaction.

Whereas the M40, which spans 89 miles and links London, Oxford, and Birmingham, was the motorway that received highest marks as road users gave it 79 per cent, with one even stating: 'It is one of the few motorways that has few delays when I travel on it.'

However, at the opposite end of the spectrum is a pivotal motorway in the Midlands that has been lambasted by drivers, especially for its 'smart' stretches with variable speed limits that users said were reduced 'for no apparent reason'. 

The M42, the 40-mile-long stretch connecting Birmingham with major locations including Nottingham, Solihull, Tamworth and Redditch, has been ranked the worst motorway in England in a poll of more than 9,000 drivers 

Drivers rated the M42 as England's worst motorway in the annual report.

The 40-mile-long stretch, which connects Birmingham with the likes of Nottingham, Solihull, Tamworth and Redditch, was ranked last in the survey with a satisfaction score of just 56 per cent.

Unfortunately for the M42, the poll of 9,166 road users was carried out at the end of March, which coincided with major roadworks taking place on the busy section around Birmingham Airport, which likely weighed on drivers' opinion about the road.

One respondent slammed the M42's 'roadworks, potholes and delays', describing it as a 'terrible road to drive on'.

Its sections that have been converted to smart motorways also upset motorists.

The M42 has controlled motorway stretches from junction 3 to junction 3A eastbound, and junctions 7 to 9 and a section of dynamic hard shoulder (where the hard shoulder becomes an active lane during congestion) between junctions 3A and 7.

These parts of the M42 all have variable speed limits, with motorists notified of changes via overhead gantries and enforced by cameras.

One driver said the variable limits 'do not always reflect the traffic conditions,' complaining that they were 'directed to reduce speed for no apparent reason'.

The survey quizzed more than 9,100 road users about their last journey on a motorway or major A road in England - all of which are managed by National Highways

Drivers were unhappy with 'smart' stretches of the M42 motorway with variable speed limits. One motorists said they 'did not always reflect the traffic conditions,' complaining that they were 'directed to reduce speed for no apparent reason'. Pictured: a Dynamic Hard Shoulder section of the M42 in Warwickshire

England's worst trunk road of all - according to the poll of motorists - is the A12. This is a 52-mile stretch of dual carriageway running between London and Lowestoft, Suffolk. Out of the 27 motorways and A roads rated, it was bottom of the league with a lowly 55%

The second and third worst-rated motorways were the M62 (60 per cent) and - unsurprisingly - the M25 with a satisfaction score of 65 per cent. 

The trunk road in England that was voted worst of all among motorists was the A12, which runs between London and Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Out of the 27 motorways and A roads rated, it was bottom of the league with a lowly 55 per cent score.  

The M40, which spans 89 miles and links London, Oxford, and Birmingham, was the motorway that received highest marks as road users gave it a 79%. One respondent stated: 'It is one of the few motorways that has few delays when I travel on it'

The A19, which runs parallel to the A1 in the North East and connects Seaton Burn, near Newcastle, with Doncaster, was the highest ranked major trunk road in the survey, scoring 85% for overall satisfaction 

Read More

Seven in ten motorists fail to follow this Highway Code guideline when driving on the motorway...

The results of the annual survey will make interesting reading for National Highways, the Government-owned company responsible for all motorways and A roads in England.

Transport Focus chief executive Alex Robertson said: 'Drivers tell us that the maintenance of motorways and major roads - how most of us get around the country - is more important to them than building new roads.

'With road user perceptions of road surface quality deteriorating since 2022 - and declining satisfaction with journey times - National Highways must continue to focus on delivering safe, smooth journeys.

'We're committed to working with the Government and National Highways to help them to deliver on road users' top priorities: improved journey times and satisfaction with surface quality.'

This is Money has approached National Highways for comment.

It told us: 'We’ve committed to delivering additional safety benefits on our motorways and will remove roadworks as soon as we can. All our projects are carefully planned to minimise disruption and keep the country moving.

'We want motorists to have better end-to-end experiences on our roads. We listen carefully to our customers, through independent research like this, alongside our own, to meet their needs.

'The M42 is a key part of our network linking the M5, M40, M6 and M1. We recently completed some long-term safety work and, with the improvements at Junction 6 next year, drivers will start to experience the benefits of our investment.

A spokesperson added: 'Maintaining and investing in our roads is a priority and our most recent assessment shows that over 96 per cent of them are in good condition.

'We have a robust programme of improvements which will provide long term benefits for motorists, including shorter and more reliable journeys.'

The survey found that drivers' general perception of England's busiest trunk roads was bleaker this year than it was when 9,000 motorists were polled in 2023

The poll suggests delays and surface conditions on major roads are getting worse

The survey showed that drivers' overall perception of England's busiest trunk roads is bleaker in 2024 than it was last year.

The satisfaction score for respondents' last journeys on motorways or major A roads declined from 73 per cent in 2022/23 to 71 per cent in 2023/24.

Satisfaction with journey times also fell, dropping from 71 per cent last year to 68 per cent this.

The study comes just days after the Department for Transport published data showing that delays on National Highways' roads have peaked to record levels.

Average hold-ups were 11 seconds per vehicle per mile (spvpm) in the year to the end of June, which was the longest time in records dating back to March 2016, when the figure was 8.6 spvpm.

The poll found that drivers had become increasingly frustrated with journey times throughout the 12-month period between March 2023 and the same month in 2024. This comes after the DfT released data showing that journey times in Britain had hit record levels of delays

New statistics from the DfT showed the average hold-ups on motorways and A roads in England managed by National Highways reached 11 seconds per vehicle per mile (spvpm) in the year to the end of June 2024. That is the longest time in records dating back to March 2016, when the figure was 8.6 spvpm

Transport Focus noted that traffic levels on motorways and major A roads rose by 2.3 per cent from 2022 to 2023, but remained 1 per cent below pre-coronavirus levels.

It also said roadworks relating to the ongoing programme of retrofitting 150 additional emergency stopping areas on smart motorways is 'a further challenge'.

The independent watchdog's research is further evidence of motorists' frustration with the nation's crumbing road network,

Transport Focus found further evidence of declining road surface conditions in England. The report comes after more than 40 drivers suffered extensive vehicle damage after hitting potholes on the M4 and M25 within a week this month

There was chaos on the M4 (pictured) when motorists plunged into a 'massive' pothole near junction 5 - just days before a similar sized crater caused carnage on the M25

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

M4 pothole wrecks 20 cars in one go: Drivers line up along the hard shoulder (just days before M25 crater took out 58 cars)

Satisfaction with road surface quality dropped from 73 per cent to just 68 per cent.

This ties in with the latest report from the AA published this week, which highlighted that the breakdown provider's patrol had attended almost half a million pothole-related callouts between January and September, which is 10,000 more than the same period in 2023.

Last year saw pothole-triggered breakdowns reach a five-year high.

However, the motoring groups warns that recent heavy downfalls and flooding combined with falling autumn temperatures will almost certainly see 2024 exceed last year's figures.

As a result, road safety groups have mounted pressure on the new Labour Government to introduce new funding and measures to better maintain Britain's pothole-riddled roads. 

And this isn't just local routes. 

There have been a spate of recent high-profile instances of drivers suffering serious damage to their vehicles after hitting potholes on major motorways. 

This week, MailOnline exclusively obtained images of a 'massive' pothole that crippled 20 cars on the M4. This follows the report of a similar sized crater causing carnage on the M25 only last week. 

National Highways told us that it undertakes its own condition surveys across the trunk road network every year and the results are used to identify resurfacing requirements. 

'These defects are categorised and we aim to repair the most serious ones within 24 hours,' it said.

In the poll conducted by Transport Focus, just 49 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the management of roadworks, which is similar to last year.