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Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Life on the most hated motorway in Britain: Hours-long delays, dangerous lanes and run-down service stations - drivers reveal why the M1 has been voted the country's worst road
Furious drivers have revealed why the M1 has been been voted the country's worst motorway, citing lengthy delays, dangerous lanes and run-down service stations. Motorists using the M1 motorway, which connects London to Leeds, have spoken about the grueling reality of travelling along the 193-mile road, criticising its never-ending traffic, roadworks and dangerous incidents. While several complained about the 50mph speed limits, arguing that they were designed to catch individuals out, others condemned the decision to use the hard shoulder as an extra lane, arguing that it could cause accidents. The controversial new road restrictions were introduced due to the construction of smart motorway emergency areas along the M1. It comes as the M1 was officially revealed to be the country's most-hated motorway, with Transport Focus' new Strategic Roads User Survey finding that just 57 per cent of drivers were satisfied with their journey on the road. Daniel Ward, from Manchester, is a frequent user of the M1 due to having business offices located in London. Describing the major north-south route as 'horrendous' to drive along, he said: 'It's absolute chaos. There's always traffic. 'We're heading back to Manchester today and it should be about a three-and-a-half-hour journey, but we checked the route, and it says five hours. 'We're trying to work at the same time but the service is terrible along the road so we can't even take work calls in the car. We have to keep stopping.' Speaking from London Gateway services, the 33-year-old also expressed concern about the 'incredibly dangerous' use of the hard shoulder as a fourth lane. Adding that he 'doesn't like it at all', he said: 'What are people meant to do when they break down? 'Another issue is that the variable speed limits change all the time – and I've seen so many people getting flashed. It's almost like a trap.' In the new Transport Focus survey it was revealed that most of the more than 9,000 road users surveyed 'recognise' the need for the emergency areas on the smart motorway but they had felt 'the impact of roadworks'. John and Ruth Hudson, who had stopped at Newport Pagnell services, also often frequent the M1. While the married couple live in Newcastle, their sons attend colleges in Surrey and Buckinghamshire. Mr Hudson, 47, expressed similar frustration towards the variable speed limits, adding that he has been 'caught before' by the smart technology and would prefer to use the A1 in order to avoid them. Meanwhile, Ms Hudson agreed that her desired preference was the A1, explaining: 'The service stations are nicer.' Alongside Mr Ward, the 39-year-old also raised concerns for the lack of a hard shoulder on parts of the M1, describing the restriction as 'dangerous' and something that 'worries her'. In 2023, Anne Pember, a senior coroner for Northamptonshire, wrote to road bosses warning that the lack of a hard shoulder created 'a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken'. Ms Pember's warning came after she presided over the inquest of David Levett. The 53-year-old, who had cerebral palsy, was a rear seat passenger when his carer's Seat Leon was smashed into from behind by a lorry on the M1 while stationary in February 2018. The stretch had no hard shoulder as it had been converted into an 'all-lane running' (ALR) smart motorway. This means drivers can become marooned in live traffic if they're unable to reach an emergency layby. In 2023, Rishi Sunak, then Prime Minister, announced that all planned future smart motorway schemes were to be cancelled due to drivers losing confidence in 'death trap' roads. However, he did not scrap any of the hundreds of miles of existing schemes, raising an abundance of safety concerns and criticism from campaigners. HGV driver Jeff Alstead, 66, described the M1 as 'awful', with there 'always' traffic jams, often in predictable areas. He said: 'There are always traffic jams on the M1. I can tell you exactly where they'll be each time, too. There's always one at Canterbury. 'The other day there was a jam for 20 miles. I was stuck for four hours.' Mr Alstead, who was taking a break at Newport Pagnell services, also argued that the missing hard shoulder had actually made traffic worse, rather than helping to improve congestion as had been initially hoped. Claiming that the decision to axe the hard shoulder in replacement of a fourth lane had been 'ridiculous'. He asked: 'What am I meant to do if I break down?' In 2021, it was reported that a stretch of the M1's 'smart motorway' which had promised to boost the local economy by almost £1billion had actually increased congestion, slowing down journey times at an expected loss of more than £200million. The damning figures, obtained via a freedom of information request by Highways Magazine, showed that there had been little benefit in introducing a 'dynamic hard shoulder' along junctions 10 to 13 on the M1 from December 2012 to December 2017. One unfortunate road user driving along the M1 had reportedly already seen a crash by the time he stopped for a break at Toddington Services. Nicky Frances, 31, who was driving from Margate to Manchester to see Oasis in concert, described some of the speed variables and incident warnings as 'pretty annoying' and resulting in a 'slow moving road'. In February 2018, David Levett, 53, (pictured) who had cerebral palsy, was a rear seat passenger when his carer's Seat Leon was smashed into from behind by a lorry on the M1 while stationary He added: 'I had one which said there was a cyclist in the road, but I didn't see anything, so sometimes it seems like everyone is just slowing down for no reason.' Meanwhile, Shelley Bartosa, 58, who was visiting the UK from Michigan in the US, said that she had witnessed several incidents while driving along the M1. Stating that she resonates with people's frustrations given her negative experiences on the M1, Ms Bartosa said: 'We've come here in the summer for the past couple years and a year ago we were on the M1 when a sausage truck overturned. 'We were there for hours The thing I've noticed is that you end up stuck with nowhere to go. In the US, there are more exit options. 'So I can see why people are frustrated.' The new Transport Focus survey results revealed that the M1 had scored a satisfaction rating of just 57 per cent followed by a joint result of 60 per cent for both the M7 and the M25. The A47 received the lowest A road rating overall with just 56 per cent of road users satisfied with their experience. At the other end of the scale, the A30 from Exeter to Penzance is rated as England's best road. 'Recently upgraded to dual carriageway with new surfacing. Journey time improved,' said one happy road user. Despite an overwhelming degree of negative feedback towards the M1, Capalin Cotoarba, 31, argued that the M25 was 'much worse' to travel on due to the high likelihood of traffic jams. Catharine Crawshaw, 71, also voiced similar criticisms of the 117-mile-long motorway, stating: 'It's the M25 that's the worst bit. Last Friday we were stuck on there for two hours'. Despite an overwhelming degree of negative feedback towards the M1, Capalin Cotoarba (pictured), 31, argued that the M25 was 'much worse' to travel on due to the high likelihood of traffic jams ENGLAND'S WORST ROADS Rank Road Satisfaction Rating 1 A47 56% 2 M1 57% 3 M27 60% 4 M25 60% 5 M4 62% 6 M42 62% 7 A27 62% 8 A12 63% 9 M60 65% 10 A3 66% And, amid all of the objections, David Duro, 50, who was resting at Toddington services, even came out in defence of the M1. While he agreed that it can be quite traffic heavy, the HGV driver claimed it has significantly improved over the past few years due to the new system. He continued: 'It's a motorway – so sometimes it flows and sometimes it doesn't. But I just find there's no point getting stressed about it. 'It is what it is. At the end of the day it's just about getting there safely.' In response to the survey results, Louise Collins, director at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, previously said: 'Long stretches of roadworks, sometimes one after another, and miles of cones have had a significant impact on road user satisfaction with England's motorways, with a disappointing downward trend over the past couple of years. 'While roadworks are necessary to help maintain roads and drive improvements in user experience, the decrease in road user satisfaction reinforces the importance of National Highways learning the lessons from the smart motorway emergency area retrofit programme. 'We'll be working with National Highways to help them use these survey findings as they plan future roadworks to make sure the impact on users is minimised.' National Highways finished its installation of emergency areas in March with Transport Focus reporting there are 'early signs' that satisfaction is recovering after the completion of the works. A National Highways spokesperson also said at the time: 'Installing more than 150 extra motorway emergency areas was a commitment made in 2022, with a stretching deadline of Spring 2025, to support drivers' confidence whilst travelling on smart motorways. 'We successfully completed this work in March, delivering around five years' worth of work in just over three. 'Drivers should now experience fewer delays and the M1 is now entirely free of major roadworks for the first time since 2008.'
Daily Mirror
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
UK's worst motorway named and it's a 193-mile stretch nowhere near the M25
A major motorway spanning some 193 miles, which has with 48 junctions and carries more than 140,000 motorists every day has been crowned the country's worst - but it's not the M25 The UK's worst motorway, which has been plagued with roadworks and 50mph speed limits, has officially been named and shamed. Transport Focus' Strategic Roads User Survey 2024-25 found the M1 to be Britons' least favourite motorway, with only 57 per cent of those travelling on it satisfied with their journeys. The major route, spanning 193 miles from London to Leeds with 48 junctions, carries more than 140,000 motorists every day, and is historically one of the most treacherous. According to Pass Me Fast, which analysed accident data from 2007 to 2016, the M25 tops the list as the most dangerous in the UK, recording 7,673 accidents, with 13,064 vehicles involved and 80 deaths over that period. The M1 placed in second, with 7,617 accidents involving 13,121 vehicles, but almost double the amount of fatalities — 154. One of the main things maddening motorists on the M1 has been the extensive and prolonged roadworks. One survey participant described their experience as 'miles of coned off road with little or no sign of actual work being done'. Another scathed: "Roadworks and average speed checks. M1 is a very difficult road to plan time wise." The negative impact of these roadworks is not limited to the M1. Across England, only 69 per cent of drivers reported being satisfied with their motorway journeys, a two per cent decline from the previous year. Transport Focus found the ongoing upgrades to smart motorways to be a major factor in this downward trend. The survey asked more than 9,000 road users about their recent experiences, revealing that extensive roadworks required for the National Emergency Area Retrofit (NEAR) programme contributed significantly to the drop in satisfaction. Louise Collins, director at Transport Focus, said: "Long stretches of roadworks, sometimes one after another, and miles of cones have had a significant impact on road user satisfaction with England's motorways, with a disappointing downward trend over the past couple of years. While roadworks are necessary to help maintain roads and drive improvements in user experience, the decrease in road user satisfaction reinforces the importance of National Highways learning the lessons from the smart motorway emergency area retrofit programme. "We'll be working with National Highways to help them use these survey findings as they plan future roadworks to make sure the impact on users is minimised." The M1's reputation is further tarnished by its history of serious incidents and breakdowns. According to Highways England data from 2018-19, there were 32,152 breakdowns on the M1 — the highest total of any motorway in England. It has also been the scene of major accidents, including a tragic collision involving two lorries and a minibus near Newport Pagnell in August 2017, resulting in the deaths of six men and two women — the deadliest motorway accident since a school minibus crash on the M40 in 1993. So while the M1 is officially the UK's worst motorway, National Highways completed the installation of emergency areas by the end of March, with early indications suggesting that driver satisfaction may be beginning to improve.
Scotsman
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Scottish railway stations with highest proportion of cancelled services revealed
The Scottish Liberal Democrats criticised SNP ministers over the figures Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Figures have revealed the railway stations in Scotland with the highest proportion of cancelled services. Helensburgh Central, Craigendoran and Cardross top the list, with more than one in 20 services cancelled in the last financial year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad They are followed by Caldercruix (5.7 per cent of services cancelled), Blackridge (5.7 per cent), Armadale (5.7 per cent), Dumbarton East (5.6 per cent), Dalreoch (5.6 per cent), Drumgelloch (5.6 per cent) and Uphall (5.4 per cent). A ScotRail train | PA The Scottish Liberal Democrats, who highlighted the publicly available statistics, accused SNP minister of providing a 'masterclass in how to make public transport as unattractive as possible'. The party's Jamie Greene, who represents the West Scotland region, said: 'Passengers are shelling out huge sums of money to travel by train, only to find that some services simply don't arrive. For people here in the west of Scotland, that's a source of endless frustration. 'It's more than three years since the SNP government took over responsibility for Scotland's trains. In that time, they have clobbered passengers with ticket hikes and done next to nothing to minimise disruption or overcrowding.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Nationally, the worst month for rail service delays was October 2024, with just 45 per cent of services arriving within 59 seconds of their scheduled arrival time and 84 per cent arriving within four minutes and 59 seconds of their scheduled arrival time. Mark Ilderton, ScotRail's service delivery director, said it operates more than 2,100 services every day, with around nine out of ten of those meeting the punctuality target. He added: 'Cancellations can be for a number of reasons, many of them outside the control of ScotRail, but represented less than 3 per cent of more than 650,000 services we operate across the country over the course of the year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We know how frustrating it is when a service is cancelled or delayed, and that is why everyone at ScotRail is working hard to deliver the safe and reliable railway that our customers expect and deserve, and to encourage more people to travel by train instead of using the car. 'With more than nine out of ten customers satisfied with our service according to Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, it's testament to the hard work of ScotRail staff in delivering a safe, reliable, and green railway.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The cancellations for October-November 2024 represented 3.2 per cent of all ScotRail services. 'Train performance and passenger satisfaction in Scotland is consistently higher than the GB average – but we will keep making improvements, so more people choose to travel by rail. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'While our ability to invest and improve services is impacted by ongoing UK Government spending decisions, we have invested over £12 billion in rail infrastructure in Scotland since 2007 with a further £1.5 billion investment planned for this financial year. 'Fare increases are lower than elsewhere in the UK, and we're permanently removing ScotRail peak fares from 1 September 2025. This move will help people with ongoing cost of living pressures, eradicate child poverty and tackle the climate emergency by saving existing rail passengers money, including parents, and encouraging new, potential passengers onto the train and to leave the car at home.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
England's worst motorway revealed as 193-miles road used by thousands every day tops the list
England's worst motorway has been revealed in a new survey which also finds that overall driver satisfaction has declined over the last year. The M1 is officially the country's least-favourite motorway, with just 57 per cent of drivers satisfied with their journey on the road. Motorists have faced miles of roadworks and 50mph speed limits on the M1 due to the construction of smart motorway emergency areas. A survey respondent moans: 'Miles of coned off road with little or no sign of actual work being done' while another driver says: 'Roadworks and average speed checks. M1 is a very difficult road to plan time wise.' Roadworks are a consistent issue across England's motorways with only 69 per cent of drivers overall satisfied with their journey, a two per cent fall from last year. Transport Focus' Strategic Roads User Survey finds that although road users 'recognise' that the emergency areas are needed, they have felt 'the impact of roadworks'. A driver on the M3 complains: 'Speed restrictions on 15-mile section of road for refuge area work. 'This causes massive delays as traffic queues for the M25. Why close off such a long section of road when it's going to take months to complete.' Meanwhile, an M27 driver rages that there wasn't a 'single worker on site at all during the journey'. They add: 'The completion could be accelerated massively if they worked around the clock.' The A47 received the lowest A road rating overall with just 56 per cent of road users satisfied with their experience. A road user says: 'Some parts of the road were in poor condition with evident potholes and gouges. Roundabouts were particularly poor.' At the other end of the scale, the A30 from Exeter to Penzance is rated as England's best road. 'Recently upgraded to dual carriageway with new surfacing. Journey time improved,' says one happy road user. The South West is rated the best of England's seven National Highways regions with the M25 region at the bottom of the table. Lorry drivers are the most unhappy on the road with only 55 per cent happy with their journey. ENGLAND'S WORST ROADS Rank Road Satisfaction Rating 1 A47 56% 2 M1 57% 3 M27 60% 4 M25 60% 5 M4 62% 6 M42 62% 7 A27 62% 8 A12 63% 9 M60 65% 10 A3 66% Louise Collins, director at the independent watchdog Transport Focus says: 'Long stretches of roadworks, sometimes one after another, and miles of cones have had a significant impact on road user satisfaction with England's motorways, with a disappointing downward trend over the past couple of years. 'While roadworks are necessary to help maintain roads and drive improvements in user experience, the decrease in road user satisfaction reinforces the importance of National Highways learning the lessons from the smart motorway emergency area retrofit programme. 'We'll be working with National Highways to help them use these survey findings as they plan future roadworks to make sure the impact on users is minimised.' National Highways finished its installation of emergency areas in March with Transport Focus reporting there are 'early signs' that satisfaction is recovering after the completion of the works.
ITV News
09-07-2025
- Business
- ITV News
Plans to upgrade 'worst A-road in the country' scrapped by transport secretary
A major project to widen the A12 between Chelmsford and Colchester - described as "the worst A-road in the country" - has been scrapped by the government. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed the £1 billion plan to improve the road between junctions 19 and 25 will no longer go ahead. She told MPs that the previous Conservative government promised infrastructure projects, but had 'no plan to pay for them'. The deputy leader of Essex County Council said the decision was "hugely disappointing". 'The 16 mile stretch of the A12 between Chelmsford and Colchester is widely acknowledged as being unfit for purpose," said Cllr Louise McKinlay. "Indeed a recent satisfaction survey by Transport Focus rated the A12 as the worst A-road in the country following a survey of 9,000 road users. "It is frankly essential that improvements to this vitally important corridor are made. "I will be seeking an urgent meeting with Government ministers to discuss how the opportunity presented by the widening project, which has been many years in the making, is not lost." She added that plans to upgrade another key corridor in Essex, the A120, had previously been dropped in 2023, so this latest announcement was a "double-whammy" for the the county's economy. The A47 Wansford to Sutton scheme in Cambridgeshire has also been cancelled. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'It falls to this Government to make the difficult but necessary choices about future transport projects, to level with the British public to provide much-needed certainty and to govern with integrity. 'Only those projects that are fully costed, affordable and will deliver a return on taxpayers' money will be given the green light under my watch. That means no more black holes and no more busted budgets, no more promising the moon on a stick – those days are over. 'I have therefore taken the difficult decision on the strategic road network not to progress the A12 widening scheme. 'This, and dualling the A66 were two of the most expensive strategic schemes on the table, and it was impossible to continue with both. 'We have also decided not to progress the A47 Wansford to Sutton scheme. We are already investing over £500 million on improvements to the A47 corridor, with work to dual sections in Norfolk already under way, but it's just not feasible to support further investment at this time. 'I understand some communities will feel frustrated, but by taking this decision, we are rebalancing funds towards those areas that for too long haven't had the infrastructure investment they have deserved. 'The North and Midlands will now get a higher proportion of strategic road spend than we've seen in the last five years. I believe that's the right and fair thing to do.' Witham MP Priti Patel branded the decision to cancel the A12 widening scheme in Essex as "disgraceful". She added: "They have just undermined billions of pounds of investment in the Essex economy, damaging growth and new housing plans. "Families, businesses and landowners who have made plans based on this scheme going ahead now face uncertainty and distress. "Across Essex we have worked hard to get this scheme through the designing and planning process and the last Conservative Government committed over £1bn to its delivery. "By scrapping this scheme Labour are going to be responsible for more congestion and accidents on our roads.'
