The motorway breakdown hotspot with over 2,000 stranded drivers every year

A new study has found the biggest hotspots on UK motorways for breakdowns, with many of the country's most popular roads experiencing thousands of incidents each year. With cars getting increasingly more reliable, very few motorists expect that they may break down during a lengthy road trip across the country.

However, the insurance comparison service MoneySuperMarket highlighted that many drivers still encounter issues when out on the road. Kara Gammell, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, suggested that drivers are generally at a higher risk of breakdowns when travelling at peak times when they are more likely to encounter breakdowns.

She explained: "Friday is the most common day for breakdowns to happen, which is when many Brits will be hitting the road for weekend getaways or rushing home from work. Eagerness to get on the road could be contributing to these breakdowns with drivers skipping vehicle checks before they set off.

"Driving collisions can have a knock-on effect on breakdowns; vehicles stuck in long queues and heavy traffic can then overheat and breakdown, or motorists may drive over debris from accidents, causing tyre punctures."

According to MoneySuperMarket, who used data from National Highways of cases during 2024, the most common place for a motorway breakdown is between junctions 11 and 12 of the M62.

Despite not being one of the most famous motorways in the country, the M62 is a vital link between the east and west of the country, with an average of 144,000 vehicles using it each day.

However, the small stretch between Warrington and Eccles is seen as a hot spot for breakdowns, with 2,080 taking place in one direction and a further 1,683 occurring in the other during 2024 alone.

Another prime location for motorway users to encounter an issue with their vehicle is between junctions 14 and 15 of the M1, with 1,775 incidents recorded in 2024 alone.

Covering the 12-mile distance between Milton Keynes and Northampton, the particularly troublesome stretch is an All-Lane Running (ALR) smart motorway, meaning drivers who encounter an issue need to try to keep travelling to the next Emergency Refuge Area (ERA).

Traffic travelling in the opposite direction is also at a particularly high risk of breakdowns, with the stretch spanning from junctions 15 to 14 fifth in the study with 1,608 incidents in 2024.