The UK’s slowest motorways revealed – and the city that beats London as Britain’s most congested
A recent study has revealed the most nightmare regions for commuters... and the results may surprise you!
A NEW study has revealed the worst motorways in Britain for congestion, and laid bare which stretches of road record the slowest average speed - despite being purpose built as high-paced carriageways.
Likely no surprise to those who regularly use it, the M25 London Orbital proved to be the most chaotic for traffic, with an average speed of just 25 miles per hour.
analysed data from over 527,000 vehicles travelling throughout the UK in 2016, putting together a list of the top 10 nightmare roads for commuters.
Dan Walton, managing director at Satrak, said it was easy to see how the Orbital Motorway proved the worst for traffic.
“It’s little surprise to find that the M25 is in fact the slowest motorway," he said.
"We undertake work throughout the country and usually find the M25 to be the most cumbersome, and our data provides evidence for that.
"I’ve heard of tailbacks stretching 12 miles in my time there so it’s of little surprise to me.”
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The long-running M4 between London and Wales was the second most congested stretch with an average speed of 30mph, while the M73 near Glasgow proved to be the worst in Scotland, ranking number five on the list.
Surprisingly, despite London being widely considered the nation's congestion capital, three of the top five slowest motorways were located further north, with the M606 in West Yorkshire and the M621 in Leeds ranking at third and fourth respectively, both averaging just over 40mph.
In fact, London did not even rank first as the worst city in the country for traffic overall.
Cambridge took top spot on that list, with drivers crawling around the university city at an average pace of just 14mph.
The nation's capital took third place with a mean speed of 15mph, sitting behind Hereford in second.
The majority of the slowest cities were located in East Anglia and the West Midlands, while other iconic university towns Bath and Oxford rounded out the list.
None of the cities listed recorded an average speed in excess of 20mph, with Oxford the fastest of a very slow bunch at just 17mph.