The most enjoyable parts of the country to drive around have been announced with Wales topping the list, a new study reveals.
Motoring experts at LeaseCar.uk have crunched the numbers for each region based on factors which are important to drivers when it comes to having an enjoyable trip.
Highest amount of traffic levels, most amount of roads (miles), total number of collisions and the collective sum of all pothole claims, have all been analysed. Each region was given a nominal score which was totalled up to give a final ranking.
Drivers in Wales have been rated the happiest across the whole of Britain with the least amount of pothole claims, over 21,000 miles of roads and some of the lowest crash and traffic rates across the board.
Closely followed is Scotland with the third happiest drivers across all regions because of the low collision rate combined with the highest amount of roads. This is despite the significantly high pothole claims of almost 3000 in one year, and the rates of congestion.
The only English region to make the top three happiest drivers was the North East, where low traffic levels and the least number of collisions helped the area rank highly.
Motorists in the North West of England have been revealed to be the most unhappy, beating the capital city – largely due to the increasing number of collisions with high pothole claims.
London ranks ninth happiest – with less than 10,000 miles of roads yet over 23,000 collisions each year yet surprisingly ranking third worst for traffic levels in the nation.
Drivers in the West Midlands are the eighth happiest in the country, with the highest number of pothole claims coming from this region – 8900 in just one year.
Yet drivers in the East Mids have some of the lowest pothole damage claims (285), combined with lower collision statistics, means drivers in this area rank fourth happiest.
| Rank | Region | Traffic (billion vehicle miles) | Amount of road (miles) | Total Collisions | Number of pothole claims | Total Points |
| 1 | Wales | 16.5 | 21,022 | 3,301 | 180 | 37 |
| 2 | North East | 11.2 | 10,228 | 3,024 | 226 | 34 |
| 3 | Scotland | 26.7 | 36,824 | 3,902 | 2,878 | 29 |
| 4 | East Midlands | 26.3 | 19,855 | 7,332 | 285 | 27 |
| 5 | South West | 31.6 | 31,420 | 8,449 | 1,782 | 25 |
| 6 | Yorkshire and the Humber | 25.4 | 19,961 | 9,083 | 1,438 | 24 |
| 7 | East of England | 33.7 | 25,038 | 9,232 | 973 | 22 |
| 8 | West Midlands | 28.3 | 20,788 | 7,952 | 8,900 | 18 |
| 9 | London | 18.5 | 92,01 | 23,139 | 1,744 | 17 |
| 10 | South East | 46.9 | 30,248 | 15,612 | 2,594 | 16 |
| 11 | North West | 32.5 | 23,242 | 10,061 | 6,382 | 15 |
Tim Alcock at LeaseCar.uk said: “It may be surprising not to see London drivers hit the bottom of the ranks as the unhappiest drivers, given the capital’s reputation with heavy congestion, low amounts of roads and high collision rates.
“But pothole claims in London are fairly low compared to other regions – the worst for potholes being the West Midlands, who, by far, have put in the most claims for damage to vehicles.
“Wales and Scotland both make it into the top three happiest drivers, given the low collision and traffic rates, despite Scotland putting in almost 3000 claims for potholes in one year.
“Motorists in the North of England have been rated both one of the happiest, and the least happiest. The North West is officially the region for the least happiest drivers, scoring high in all four categories.
“Yet the neighbouring North East and Yorkshire & the Humber rank second and sixth happiest, respectively – due to the high road mileage matched with low pothole claims.
“By using some of the most important factors motorists consider will make a trip enjoyable, the Welsh are by far the happiest drivers across Britain, with those behind the wheel in the North West being considered the least happy.”
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