Road between Doncaster and Newcastle voted as one of the worst in UK

Both delivery drivers and the public agreed that the M6 and M25 motorways are the worst roads to drive in the UK.

When contracted to deliver for AO, drivers travel over 100,000 miles each day, delivering appliances to customers in 99 per cent of all UK postcodes. The retailer turned to its fleet of over 700 drivers to get their expert opinion on the best and worst roads.

The A9 between Perth and Inverness in Scotland came out on top, closely followed by Cornwall’s Atlantic Highway (A39) and the North Wales Expressway (A55). When asked what criteria makes a road the best to drive, the drivers preferred roads that were long and clear, often with stunning scenery.

However, the M6 between Manchester and Birmingham was a clear winner when it came to the worst roads to drive, followed by the M25 around Greater London – due to traffic and congestion on these routes.

A recent survey from AO.com also reveals that almost one fifth (18%) of Brits believe the picturesque A591 is the best road to drive, closely followed by the A170 across the North Yorkshire Moors (13%) and the A39, Cornwall’s Atlantic Highway (11%).

The 2,000 Brits surveyed agreed with AO’s drivers on the worst roads - over a third (36%) said that the M25 circling Greater London is the worst road to drive, followed by the M6 (26%).

Over half (54%) of Brits chose the best road based on the picturesque scenery, whereas over a third (36%) picked a road that was fun to drive. When it came to the worst roads, over half (58%) of Brits chose their road based on the constant traffic and it always being busy.

The research also revealed that while over a third of Brits (35%) go for a drive to get from A to B, one in five (19%) choose to go for a drive to simply relax and unwind.

When asked whether they would enjoy driving for a living, over a third (38%) revealed they would love a job behind the wheel.

David Ashwell, Managing Director of AO Logistics, said: “It’s no surprise that over a third of the people surveyed expressed an interest in driving for a living. The UK has some stunning driving routes - our drivers are out on these roads every day, so they know them better than most. Travelling all over the country is certainly a perk of the job!”

When choosing what to listen to in the car, radio comes out on top with over a third (38%) regularly tuning into national radio stations over podcasts and playlists. Local stations also proved popular with 34% listening to the regional radio in the area.

The top five worse roads are:

M6 – Birmingham to Manchester

M25 – London

M62 – Leeds to Manchester

A13 – London

A19 – Newcastle to Doncaster