England's best and worst motorways according to the drivers who use them - see how M6 and A5 compare

The M6 has been ranked England’s sixth-worst major road, amid concerns over roadworks and delays.

Just under two-thirds (65 per cent) of drivers who used the motorway, which runs through the West Midlands and serves the region’s largest cities and towns, said they were satisfied with their journey, a survey by watchdog Transport Focus found.

The M42, which passes east Birmingham, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth, fared even worse in the survey, with 61 per cent of drivers saying they were satisfied.

Meanwhile the A5, which runs from Holyhead to London via Chirk, Shrewsbury, Telford and Staffordshire, ranked 14th with a 71 per cent satisfaction rate.

The M27 in Hampshire was ranked bottom, with a 56 per cent satisfaction rate. One respondent described roadworks on the motorway as “terrible” as they cause reduced speed and narrow lanes despite the respondent “very rarely” seeing any work happening.

Kent’s M20 was ranked the country’s favourite motorway, with a satisfaction rating of 79 per cent.

Across all motorways and major A-roads, 71 per cent of drivers were satisfied with their journey, up from 69 per cent last year.

Ratings for journey times, road surfaces and roadworks management all improved year on year.

England’s network of motorways and major A-roads is entering one of its largest maintenance periods since much of it was first built in the 1960s.

National Highways is embarking on a five-year renewals programme as part of the third Road Investment Strategy, which is likely to involve more roadworks.

Transport Focus director Louise Collins said the survey results demonstrate that “positive improvements to the road user experience are possible”.

She went on: “Overall satisfaction has increased and there are encouraging signs that drivers are noticing improvements in key areas, however drivers continue to tell us that roadworks can make or break a journey.

“By applying the positive lessons from recent schemes, National Highways has an opportunity to ensure roadworks are well planned, clearly communicated and minimise disruption wherever possible.”

Satisfaction with journeys on smart motorways rose from 60 per cent last year to 66 per cent.

Transport Focus attributed this to the completion of work to retrofit 150 additional emergency refuge areas, which involved widespread roadworks causing delays.

Drivers on sections of smart motorway continued to feel less safe than those on conventional motorways, at 78 per cent and 82 per cent respectively.

The A30, which runs between west London and Cornwall, was ranked the best A-road, with a 79 per cent satisfaction score.

At the other end of the scale, the A12 between the east of the capital and Suffolk had the lowest rating, at 64 per cent.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “We manage our roads to ensure the highest levels of safety while minimising disruption to drivers.

“The survey results show our work to improve road conditions and incident response times have had a positive impact for drivers.

“When roads are well maintained, businesses and communities feel the benefit, and we are committed to tackling an ageing network head-on to keep the country moving and give drivers better experiences.”

The survey of more than 9,500 drivers was conducted in the 12 months to the end of March.

Ranking England’s motorways and major A-roads based on the Transport Focus survey, with overall satisfaction scores in brackets:

1. A30 (79 per cent)
2. M20 (79 per cent)
3. M56 (78 per cent)
4. M5 (78 per cent)
5. A19 (77 per cent)
6. A23 (77 per cent)
7. M4 (76 per cent)
8. A14 (76 per cent)
9. A303 (74 per cent)
10. M40 (74 per cent)
11. M1 (74 per cent)
12. A1(M) (74 per cent)
13. M3 (72 per cent)
14. A5 (72 per cent)
15. A3 (72 per cent)
16. A38 (72 per cent)
17. A2 (72 per cent)
18. A64 (71 per cent)
19. A46 (71 per cent)
20. M61 (70 per cent)
21. A34 (70 per cent)
22. M11 (70 per cent)
23. A1 (69 per cent)
24. A47 (69 per cent)
25. A27 (69 per cent)
26. M62 (68 per cent)
27. M6 (65 per cent)
28. M25 (65 per cent)
29. A12 (64 per cent)
30. M60 (63 per cent)
31. M42 (61 per cent)
32. M27 (56 per cent)