Kids risking their lives playing chicken in road
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KIDS have been caught dicing with death on one of Inverness’s busiest roads just days into the summer holidays.
A photograph of teenagers playing "chicken" by lying down in the middle of General Booth Road has sparked outrage and concern in equal measure after being posted on Facebook.
Forwarded to the Neighbourhood Watch Inverness group by Alasdair Moffat, he said one of a group of about seven youngsters taking part was "two secs from being flattened" when he spotted them this week.
Worryingly, it looks like it could be part of a summertime trend as stories about the dangerous craze have appeared in local newspapers all over the UK since the schools broke up. In some cases, children as young as four have been caught playing the so-called game.
Close to Charleston Academy, General Booth Road is often busy with traffic looking to avoid the often congested Glenurquhart Road and Kenneth Street area nearer to the city centre.
Mr Moffat’s Facebook post prompted concerns from several city residents. One, Helen Campbell, said: "What a stupid thing to do on such a busy road."
Keri-Marie Gibson said she had shared the post to the Inverness Mummies group on Facebook "in the hope that someone knows these children and has a word".
Speaking to the HN yesterday, the chairman of Muirtown Community Council, James Kidd, said he had not been aware of the incident, but agreed it was a concern.
"General Booth Road isn’t meant to be a distributor road but that is effectively how it is because it’s used by a lot of people cutting across from the A82 and it’s always very busy, including with HGVs," he said.
"It is a worry. With this being just the start of the summer holidays you hope it’s not going to be the sort of thing that happens regularly."
Highland councillor Alex Graham, whose Inverness West ward takes in General Booth Road, said news of the craze was "quite frightening".
"It seems a crazy thing to do and needless to say, I would urge children not to take part in such behaviour and ask parents to reinforce the message about staying safe near roads, especially if their children are going to be out and about on their own in the holidays," he said.
"They might think it’s just a bit of fun but obviously the consequences could be horrendous, for the children playing this dangerous game themselves but also for any driver who gets caught up in it."
Cllr Graham also said there was a lot for children and teenagers to do in the area, with the Charleston Academy Community Campus offering different activities and "lots of open space" nearby.
He said: "Going back six or seven years, maybe there was a bit more of a problem with youngsters misbehaving in the area, but that hasn’t been a problem recently so this is quite disappointing.
"I’m a regular user of the road and haven’t seen anything like this, but I would urge drivers to be vigilant and hope that nothing awful happens in the meantime."
Another Facebook poster, Stacey Gibson, said she had witnessed a similar scene with two boys in Culloden this week.
"It looked like they were daring each other to leave a rock in the path of an oncoming car," she said. "I doubt my finger waggle did much to deter them, but I can only hope.
"I hope also that everyone has a word with their wee ones about this ‘trend’ as a precaution."
Inspector Ali Maclean said: "Those involved in such reckless behaviour risk not only their own safety but that of other motorists and road users. I would encourage parents to ensure they know where their children are and that they are safe.
"Anyone with information or concerns relating to this should contact us on 101."
