Rankings reveal area with smoothest roads for bikers in UK

Lexham Insurance‘s new rankings reveal the areas in the country where motorcyclists can best avoid potholes.

1 in 5 bikers said they’d had an accident or damaged their bike after hitting a pothole, and almost half of respondents to a RAC survey earlier this year cited the condition of their local roads as their biggest motoring concern.

However, the new ranking by Lexham Insurance reveals that road users in the North East may have less to worry about, with 96% of motorways, B and C roads in the area not currently needing to be considered for improvement according to 2023 reports.

The North East was also found to have the fewer amber and red classified roads compared to the rest of the country.

On the other end of the scale, over a third (38%) of A roads in the East Midlands classified as amber or red, as well as 42% of B and C roads.

The rankings also found that the North East experiences fewer motorcyclist casualties overall than the rest of England, and is joint safest alongside Scotland when considering ONS casualty figures per 1,000 bikers.

Brett Tinkley, Lexham Insurance’s marketing manager, said: “Riding over potholes isn’t just uncomfortable – it can do lasting damage to your tyres and suspension, and in more severe cases can even result in a jolt so hard that you’re thrown from your bike.

“While we all like to think we’ll see bigger potholes coming with enough time to get around them, the truth is that some of the UK’s roads are so riddled with issues that you’re often looking at a choice between a bad route ahead and an even worse one. Unless you’re in the North East, that is, where we’ve learned that bikers have the best chance of having a much smoother journey!”

Motorcyclists can take precautions such as wearing the correct gear, staying alert for potential hazards, and having the right insurance policy in place.

Lexham Insurance recently ranked regions across the UK to discover the best spots for motorcyclists. These included the best region for the biker communities and the place most likely to give motorcyclists rain-free rides. Visit the Bike Matters blog to read Lexham Insurance’s regional rankings in full.