Scotland tops roads to hell for breakdowns

IT SEEMS drivers really need to hope their cars don’t break down on numerous routes in southern Scotland.

That’s because seven out of the 10 worst places in Great Britain for your motor to conk out are in the region, according to a detailed study. Researchers for the Scrap Car Comparison website analysed data for more than 6.26million road locations.

They considered factors such as the strength of phone signal, distance to a garage, taxi availability, traffic levels, the amount of rain and the likelihood of freezing temperatures.

And the B725 near Middlebie, in Dumfriesshire, had the dubious honour of being the crowned the nightmare place for your four wheels to fail you, thanks to a mix of poor weather and remoteness.

The bleak spot is more than 20 miles from the nearest taxi company, almost 10 miles from a petrol station and 34 miles from a phone antenna, while being subject to low temperatures and high levels of rainfall.

Second place went to the A489 near Caersws in mid Wales, while the A702 near Elvanfoot, in South Lanarkshire, took third spot. And proving that the area is not great for unreliable vehicles, the M74/A74(M) close to Elvanfoot was seventh and the B740 near Crawfordjohn came eighth.

The Borders also had more than its fair share of breakdown blackspots, with the B6364 near Stichill, Roxburghshire, deemed the fourth-worst place. Further west, the B6400 was sixth, while the A698 near Bonjedward in the same Jedburgh vicinity was 10th.

Across the Border in Cumbria, the A6 around Shap claimed fifth place and the A596 out of Netherton was ninth.

Scrap Car Comparison boss Dan Gick said: “Breaking down is the worst thing about owning a car, but we all know certain roads are more favourable than others.

“With the cold and dark winter months upon us, we hope the findings will help drivers avoid any unfortunate scenarios, and stick to roads that are a bit kinder to breakdowns.”