Drivers unable to phone for help if they break down on over 5,500 miles of British roads – these are the areas worst affected
Thousands of miles of roads around the UK are in a complete phone signal blackout - and even more will leave you unable to use 3G for maps and traffic updates
DRIVERS who break down on more than 5,500 miles of Britain's roads won't be able to call for help.
Major sections of the UK road network are without any mobile phone coverage, according to a new study.
Based on data published by communications regulator, Ofcom, RAC Foundation's research found some 5,540 miles of road doesn't have coverage for calls from any of the country's four mobile networks.
The affected areas make up approximately two per cent of all roads in the UK.
The Scottish council area of Highland had the most roads with no phone signal at 910 miles, followed by Powys (411 miles) in Wales and Cumbria (296 miles) in north west England.
And an additional 44,368 miles of road only have partial voice coverage, with not all operators providing a signal - making up around 18 per cent of the total road network.
Areas with roads most affected by a lack of mobile phone coverage
The RAC Foundation found the local authority areas with the most miles of road lacking any mobile signal are:
1. Highland (910 miles)
2. Powys (411 miles)
3. Argyll & Bute (388 miles)
4. Cumbria (296 miles)
5. Dumfries & Galloway (266 miles)
6. North Yorkshire (219 miles)
7. Gwynedd (213 miles)
8. Na h-Eileanan Siar (207 miles)
9. Scottish Borders (192 miles)
10. Devon (190 miles)
Motorists who rely on their smartphones to access the internet for route planning and to check for congestion could get into difficulty on over 5,000 miles of road with a complete absence of 3G coverage, while an extra 66,619 miles are only covered for 3G by some operators.
And for faster internet connections, just 51 per cent of the road network has full 4G coverage.
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: "The good news is that mobile coverage has improved a great deal across our road network.
"On our motorways, which carry around a fifth of all traffic, every mile should now have voice and basic data coverage plus a 4G signal for all but a couple of miles.
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"As rapidly as the technology has advanced, so too have our expectations of enjoying uninterrupted connectivity.
"Hopes are high that autonomous and connected vehicles will make our roads safer and help cut congestion, but that is dependent on those vehicles being able to communicate with each other and the infrastructure around them.
"This analysis shows that there is still work to be done to make constant and comprehensive coverage a reality."