Britain’s slowest roads revealed: 2 miles of the A49 in Shropshire top the list with an average speed of just 8.4 mph… so how does it compare to a street near you?
- The second slowest was a 1500m stretch of the A627(M) outside Rochdale
Britain’s slowest roads, worst stretches for delays and repairs have been revealed in a list of ‘infernal highways’.
Experts revealed that the slowest stretch of main road in the country, with an average speed of just 8 mph in 2022, is a 1.2-mile stretch of the A49 in Shropshire.
That same stretch is also the most delayed in the country, as motorists there lose an average of 305 seconds, or more than five minutes per mile.
That’s more than 40 seconds per mile more than the next worst, a 1500m stretch of the A627(M) outside Rochdale, where traffic crawls at an average speed of 16.1km/h.
In third place was a stretch of road in Surrey – the A30 eastbound between the M25 and the A308 at an average speed of 17 km/h.
The research was analyzed by Forbes Advisor, who looked at the slowest, most delayed and least maintained roads in England by using data from the Department for Transport to identify where in the country motorists are most likely to be held up the longest and drive the slowest. average speeds.
A map of the 10 slowest stretches of road in England as analyzed by Forbes Advisor
A 1.2-mile stretch of the A49 in Shropshire is the slowest stretch of road in the country with average speeds of 8 mph (file photo)
Different sections of the A49 in and around the same area make up no less than six of the ten slowest road sections for average speeds, and five of the worst ten for time lost due to delays.
The A2270 in East Sussex is the slowest and most delayed road overall – with an average speed of just 14 mph and drivers losing almost three minutes per mile.
The A57, which runs in stretches from Lincoln to Liverpool, proved to be the second slowest trunk road with drivers averaging 16.5 mph, and the A335 at Southampton next at 19 mph.
The survey findings showed that Derbyshire has the highest proportion of roads in England requiring maintenance – one in five (20 per cent) of ‘A’ roads and almost a quarter (24 per cent) of ‘B and C’ roads marked.
It also found that motorways in England and Wales need £14bn worth of repairs and there are 22,600 miles of roads in ‘poor’ overall condition – nearly the equivalent length of the equator.
Kevin Pratt, auto insurance expert at Forbes Advisor, said: ‘Driving delays are routine these days, with many of us accumulating compensation for getting stuck in traffic or generally slow moving forward.
“Traffic apps are specifically designed to identify known problem areas so we can – hopefully – take evasive action.
The second slowest stretch of road is a 1500m stretch of the A627(M) outside Rochdale (file photo)
The third slowest stretch of road was in Surrey – the A30 eastbound between the M25 and the A308 (file photo)
“This situation is in some ways inevitable given that we now have over 30 million vehicles in the UK – the roads are simply at full capacity.
‘But it’s also the case that many delays are caused by roads being in poor condition and drivers react accordingly – half of drivers say poor road conditions are the main reason they feel unsafe while driving.
“It is vital that our road infrastructure is well maintained to keep traffic moving as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Collectively, drivers pay billions in excise and fuel taxes every year, so it’s only right that they see the money flowing the other way.’