Drivers reveal England’s best road with ‘charm’ – and why it beats all others
Motorists have a lot to say about England’s roads – and now they have rated the best of the bunch.
If you spend any time regularly on the country’s roads, you are likely to feel strongly about the state of UK roads – whether it’s the good, the bad and the ugly.
Drivers recently had a say on the country’s worst motorways which was bad news for some of the major roads slated for roadworks, potholes and delays.
No love was lost on the M25 also dubbed the world’s largest car park and ‘the road to hell’ due to frequent traffic jams.
Part of the M25 and A282 were gridlocked last week after a lorry fire and a broken maintenance vehicle at Dartford caused hours of misery for commuters in Surrey and Kent.
Now drivers have revealed their favourite carriageway and what sets it apart.
England’s best road
The A19 in North Yorkshire made it to the very top of the list in a survey of more than 9,000 motorists conducted by Transport Focus.
The 124-mile carriageway which runs from Selby through York, Thirsk, Easingwold, Crathorne to Teesside was voted the best thanks to the road quality and clear markings.
One A19 driver commented: ‘Clear road, decent surface, good markings.’
The A19 scored 85% for overall satisfaction – far ahead of the second-best M40 with its 79% score.
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The York Civic Trust said the road, which is relatively new compared to the A1 it runs parallel to, has a certain charm.
A spokesperson told BBC News: ‘Maybe its status as the ‘other’ north road is part of the A19’s charm.
‘And being a less well-known road to drivers can be an advantage, as many view it as less busy and with fewer traffic jams than the A1(M).’
The survey asked about journey time, road surface, how safe the road feels and markings.
Drivers said it felt the safest, earning the A19 a safety score of 87%.
Only the M40 scored higher in the road markings category with 87% compared to A19’s 86% rating.
The A12 scored only 55% for overall satisfaction, including 34% for its road surface.
Top 10 roads in England
Here are the top ten roads and the overall satisfaction score in brackets.
- A19 – 85%
- M40 – 79%
- M4 – 78%
- M5 – 77%
- A1(M) – 76%
- A38 – 75%
- A46 – 74%
- M56 – 73%
- A30 – 73%
- M3 – 73%
(Source: Transport Focus)
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