New research is now out revealing which motorways and services are most favoured among drivers.

The Engineius survey shows its drivers felt most comfortable stopping in nicer environments

A study by logistics firm Engineius saw its drivers plump for Tebay services. Located on the M6, it’s operated via a family-run business and provides locally sourced food and multiple EV charging stations. Tebay was reported as looking and feeling welcoming, modern, and picturesque, setting it apart from other “outdated and neglected” service stations.

Close behind Tebay were Rugby (M6), Gloucester (M5) and Annadale Water A74 (M) services, which were praised on areas including stunning scenery, “no chains with inflated prices” and provision of farm shop food.

Engineius, whose network of over 600 self-employed drivers and transport agents collect and deliver vehicles all over the UK on a daily basis, said the results clearly show what matters to the driver in 2023.

Chris Clibbery, director at Engineius, added: “A nicer environment is somewhere our drivers felt most comfortable to stop, and this is important when taking a break from time on the road.”

More than half of drivers stated that their primary reason for stopping was to refuel or recharge a vehicle, followed by a toilet break, getting a hot drink, “stretching my legs”, buying food or meeting up with someone.

Length of journey was definitely a deciding factor on if, or when, drivers would stop at a service station. The largest share of the votes at 42% replied that they would stop once they had been driving for three hours and only 13% of drivers would stop after one hour on the road.

M5 named England’s most popular motorway

Independent watchdog Transport Focus has also published its own survey, which reveals drivers’ favourite motorways.

In the Strategic Roads User Survey, the M5 motorway between the Midlands and the South West had the highest overall satisfaction at 82% – up from 74% last year and putting it in the top spot for 2023.

Road users were most satisfied with the M5 due to the time their journey took, good traffic flow and the road not being too busy during their journey.

Coming second was the M40 at 82% overall satisfaction, doing well again after being the most highly rated road last year (79%).

Journeys on smart motorways had lower levels of satisfaction with road users than those that did not include a smart section (smart 69%; not smart 76%).

As for ‘A’ roads, the A303 was rated the best road in England, with a figure of 85%.

More than 9,000 road users took part in the watchdog’s survey about their last journey on a motorway or major A-road managed by National Highways.

Other key findings include that 73% of road users were satisfied overall with their last motorway or major A-road journey; an improvement on last year’s 69%.

Some 71% of users were satisfied with the time their journey took. But the management of roadworks is the lowest-performing area; just 48% of those surveyed were satisfied.

The Strategic Roads User Survey helps National Highways develop initiatives and target investments that will improve the driver experience.

The survey is the formal measure in the Government’s second Road Investment Strategy as part of holding National Highways to account for delivering good customer experience.