The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Lucky escape for pupils after car smashes railings
Councillor voices safety fears after crash
Children at a Fife primary school had a lucky escape yesterday after a car ploughed through railings just yards from the school gates.
Police were called after a silver Lexus 400 SUV smashed into barriers outside Falkland Primary School around lunchtime, although fortunately no youngsters or pedestrians were on the street at the time of the crash.
The driver of the car and his passenger were also uninjured, but the accident – which took place on The Pleasance shortly after 1pm – has sparked renewed concerns about road safety in the village.
Local councillor David MacDiarmid, whose grandson attends Falkland Primary School, believes it will only be a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or even killed unless something is done.
“I’m absolutely furious that this has happened because there would have been flashing lights, it’s a 20mph zone, and there could have been bairns going in and out for lunch at the time,” he explained.
“If that barrier hadn’t been there then someone could...have been killed.”
Children at a Fife primary school had a lucky escape yesterday after a car crashed into railings just yards from the school gates.
Police were called after the silver Lexus 400 SUV ploughed into the barriers outside Falkland Primary School shortly after 1pm.
Fortunately no one was injured in the lunchtime incident, but the crash has sparked renewed concerns about road safety in the village and particularly in The Pleasance, which is the main route running alongside the school.
It is understood there were no youngsters in the street at the time of the accident, although the area is normally busy around lunchtime with children and other pedestrians milling around.
With that in mind, and in the wake of yesterday’s crash, local councillor David MacDiarmid, whose grandson attends Falkland Primary School, believes it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed in the village – unless action is taken soon.
“I’m absolutely furious that this has happened because there would have been flashing lights, it’s a 20mph zone, and there could have been bairns going in and out for lunch at the time,” he said.
“How this is possible is beyond me, and if that barrier hadn’t been there then someone could quite easily have been killed.
“I’ve been dealing with this issue for some time now and I get complaints on a weekly basis from people in The Pleasance about the speed of traffic. I get it all the time.
“The Pleasance is notorious for it and I don’t know how nobody has been killed there.”
Mr MacDiarmid added his belief that a wide-ranging traffic survey should be carried out in relation to traffic through the village, and has asked for another classifier tube – which can record vehicle speeds, weights and lengths – to be installed further down The Pleasance to help monitor the situation.
“The traffic in the area is far too heavy and there are far too many agricultural vehicles going through,” he added.
“The Pleasance was designed for cows to go up and down, not these enormous vehicles that we’ve been seeing. The traffic that goes up and down there is totally inappropriate.”
Both the male driver of the vehicle and his male passenger were unhurt, and the vehicle was recovered after blocking the southbound lane for some time.
However, there was significant damage to the barrier itself on the pavement beside the road.
A spokesperson for Fife Council said the running of the school day had been unaffected and there was no structural damage to the school itself.
Transportation officials are expected to assess the scene to see what measures are necessary.