Are we nearly there yet? British parents have named the worst road trips in the UK to attempt with kids, according to a new poll.
As many as 72 per cent of parents will be embarking on a car journey with their kids in the October half term or at Christmas.
And a new study has revealed the UK roads best avoided for families with kids aged under ten – with bottlenecks, tailbacks and motorway misery all the way.
Topping the list – pulled together by car firm Hyundai, from a study of 2,000 Brits – is the M25, commonly dubbed ‘Britain’s biggest car park’.
Almost a third of mums and dads (29 per cent) said the London ring road is the number one nightmare route, thanks to seemingly endless traffic jams.
Hot on its bumper comes the M5 from Birmingham to Devon/Cornwall and the A30 into Cornwall (both 19 per cent).
Both routes are infamous for summer holiday tailbacks that can turn a two-hour trip into an all-day drive.
Other motorways unpopular with families include the M1 around Milton Keynes and Luton (17 per cent), the M6 to the Lake District (17 per cent) and the M62 across the Pennines (15 per cent).
As many as 72 per cent of parents will be embarking on a car journey with their kids in the October half term or at Christmas. Pictured: File photo of summer holiday traffic heading to Dover, Kent, in July this year
Parents taking to these roads faced all manner of challenges, including roadworks, high winds and adverse weather.
And one in six (15 per cent) said they have waited not-so-patiently going past the iconic Stonehenge on the A303, wondering when the queues will end.
It is not just motorways driving families round the bend though.
The A1/A1(M) through Cambridgeshire and North Yorkshire (13 per cent), the A2/M2 to Dover (13 per cent) and the M20 to Folkestone/Eurotunnel (12 per cent) also all featured on the list.
Even Scotland and Wales were not spared, with several stunning but slow single carriageways through the countries’ beautiful scenery named and shamed.
These included the A82 to Loch Lomond (10 per cent), the A9 through the Cairngorms (nine per cent) and the A470 through Wales to Snowdonia (eight per cent).
And it is not just difficult drives keeping parents firmly behind the wheel, according to the same poll.
Mums and dads across the country are clocking up nine hours a month driving simply to rock their children to sleep.
A new study has revealed the UK roads best avoided for families with kids aged under ten – with bottlenecks, tailbacks and motorway misery all the way. Pictured: File photo of summer holiday traffic heading to Dover, Kent, in July this year
Some 73 per cent admitted they regularly do laps of their neighbourhood for nap time.
But it is not plain driving for all, with traffic jams (42 per cent), engine noise (41 per cent) and frequent petrol stops (36 per cent) all named as obstacles to getting children to nod off en route.
There were also the dilemmas of whether to wake a sleeping child just to pay for fuel (28 per cent) and the guilt of wasting petrol while idling (26 per cent).
And many parents (21 per cent) also commented on the sheer exhaustion that comes from spending hours behind the wheel.
No wonder one in ten parents (11 per cent) admitted the only truly peaceful journeys are those when the kids are asleep.
More than one in five (21 per cent) confessed car journeys with kids under ten can be stressful.
Meanwhile, some 15 per cent said they do not know how their parents coped in the days before tech.
But despite their many challenges, some 43 per cent of parents still said road trips are fun – and 36 per cent treasure memories of their own childhood family road trips.
When asked about hacks to make journeys more peaceful, 24 per cent of parents said they head off at the crack of dawn to ‘beat the traffic’.
More than half (53 per cent), meanwhile, insisted plenty of snacks are essential for a successful trip.
Hyundai commissioned the research to highlight the sleep-inducing qualities of it’s KONA Electric.
The brand is launching ‘Rest Drives’ – extended test drives designed to help families discover a calmer way to travel.
