Reckless youths have been branded ‘kamikaze’ after playing ‘chicken’ on a busy Fife trunk road risking the lives of motorists as well as their own.
Several motorists have reported instances of teenagers running out in front of oncoming traffic at a notorious spot on the A92 near Freuchie in the last two weeks.
The stretch of road has been the scene of a number of tragic deaths in the last decade.
‘It is madness’
One local motorist, who asked not to be named, said she had witnessed youngsters dressed in dark clothing running across the road as traffic approached on two separate occasions, the second of which she said she was forced conduct an emergency stop.
“On both occasions it happened near the Bridgend petrol station where teenagers blatantly ran out into the road as cars were approaching in both directions.
“It’s madness and sooner or later someone is going to get killed.”
Another motorist said they too had narrowly missed hitting one youth along the same stretch of road last week.
Councillor David MacDiarmid, said the news of youngsters daring each other to run across the road in a game of ‘chicken’ was both very worrying and highly irresponsible.
“It’s a kamikaze attitude that is incredibly dangerous and will result in someone being killed if it doesn’t stop,” said Councillor MacDiarmid.
“Not only are they risking their own lives on such busy stretch of the A92, they are also risking the lives of motorists.”
In his 14 years as a local councillor, Mr MacDiarmid, has campaigned tirelessly to bring safety improvements to the A92.
“We’ve witnessed a number of accidents that have resulted in the loss of life in the past decade, most notably the nine-year-old boy, Logan Carrie, who was tragically killed on the A92 just a short distance away near Glenrothes.
“Because of those sad events we have worked so hard to get some really meaningful and much needed safety improvements on the A92.
“To learn about this ridiculous game of dare is very disturbing and I would urge anyone who witnesses such actions to report them immediately.”
‘A frightening thing to be doing’
Ralph Taylor, secretary of Freuchie Community Council, echoed Cllr MacDiarmid’s concerns and also urged people to report future incidents.
“It’s a frightening thing to be doing on any road let alone the A92, the busiest in the area.
“Thankfully the roads are a little quieter than normal because of the lockdown but it’s still an incredibly dangerous game to be playing.”
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “We’ve spoke with the local policing team and their road policing colleagues from the area and this isn’t something that they are aware of happening, so we’d be unable to comment on it.
“As always, the public should report any concerns to police on 101.”
