Drivers have their say on Britain's roads

Motorways and major 'A' roads are the backbone of Britain's economy and way of life - and drivers have now had their say on the roads they prefer and how some carriageways could benefit from improvements.

The M5 has been rated the most popular motorway in England in a new survey of drivers from the independent watchdog, Transport Focus. 

In the Strategic Roads User Survey the M5 motorway between the Midlands and the South West had the highest overall satisfaction at 82%.

The M5 motorway has improved both its overall satisfaction rating (74%) and its position in the rankings. 

Coming second was the M40 at 82% overall satisfaction, doing well again after being the most highly rated road last year (79%).

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus said: “England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads are at the heart of how many of us move around the country. It’s good to see the M5 and M40 perform well. 

“As the so-called backbone of Britain, the M6 is a vital route which National Highways must continue to focus on delivering safe, smooth journeys.

"We’ll continue to keep pushing National Highways to improve these issues.”

More than 9000 road users took part in the watchdog’s survey about their last journey on a motorway or major ‘A’ road managed by National Highways.

Road users were most satisfied with the M5 due to the time their journey took, good traffic flow and the road not being too busy during their journey. 

As for ‘A’ roads, the A303 has been rated the best road in England. The road which connects the M3 and the A30 from London to Devon and Cornwall had the highest overall satisfaction at 85 per cent. 

The M6 was rated the least popular motorway with the lowest level of satisfaction (66%). The A27 receives the lowest level of overall satisfaction (59%), followed by the A12 (61%).

Journeys on smart motorways had lower levels of satisfaction with road users than those that did not include a smart section (smart 69%; not smart 76%).

Overall, 73% of road users were satisfied with their last motorway or major ‘A’ road journey, an improvement on last year’s 69%, while 71% of users were satisfied with the time their journey took.

The management of roadworks is the lowest performing area, with just 48% of those surveyed satisfied with this.

The A303 has the highest overall satisfaction at 85%, while the A27 receives the lowest level of overall satisfaction (59%) followed by the A12 (61%)

Commenting on the M5 one driver said they had experienced a "clear road" on their journey, with signage clear for roadworks that were taking place.

Another commenting on the M40 said: “Traffic not too heavy, road in good condition.”

Speaking of the lowest ranked roads, one driver using the M6 remarked: “Terrible tarmac conditions in places, matrix signs not up to date, unwarranted smart motorway speed limits.”

Another using the A12 said: “The state of the A12 road surface is terrible, added to that the ongoing roadworks make it a fairly unpleasant journey.”

The Strategic Roads User Survey helps National Highways develop initiatives and target investments that will improve the driver experience. 

The survey is the formal measure in the Government’s second Road Investment Strategy as part of holding National Highways to account for delivering good customer experience.