Leeds to Birmingham in rush hour. M62 or M1?

[ATV]

I've got to make a drop-off and pick-up to an address near the Birmingham Bull Ring next Thursday.

Due to the weight of the stuff I have to drive otherwise I would have gone by train. I can get to the M62 and the M1 very easily.

Google maps is giving me the choice of

1) M62 towards Warrington and then drop down the M6

2) or I can go down the M1 towards Leicester and across the A42.

If you HAD to take one of these routes at 7 A.M. which one would you prefer?

[kiethton]

I’d just put Waze on at the beginning of the drive, safe in the knowledge that I’m getting the best route for that particular morning

[Vaud]

I used to do a very regular run from North Leeds to Aston.

I used to choose to leave at 6... clear Sheffield by 7 and take the A52. It will be snarly getting into Birmingham whichever route you take.

[anonymous-user]

Anything but the M62. It snarls up very easily/often and no real diversion routes.

[snotrag]

I would always choose M1 rather than across first then down, other than when a pre-departure traffic check showed a serious road closure etc.

I've done East Leeds to BHX airport a few times recently and found it surprisingly easy/hassle free - we moan but smart motorways but keep the traffic moving generally. Steady 60 is better than 30-70-25-80-15-40-70-30....

[anomie]

I used to commute from York to my office in Peterborough or Solihull every day. Definitely M1 to m42 but leave early or after rush hour as you don’t want to get caught up anywhere in the Birmingham area between 8-9:30 or you can spend over an hour just to get done Tamworth to the NEC junction. I used to leave at 6 and get to the office for 8:30. If I left after 6:30 it usually added an hour to my trip. Going down a1 and cutting across around Leicester is also viable depending on when you set off and can be much faster due to lack of a1 speed cameras. (It used to take an hour and 45 min into Peterborough city centre from York... a1 is fabulous early in the morning. Avoid the m6 it is the devil’s road and also a toll road so you get to pay for the pleasure of being stuck in never ending traffic.