A NEW BBC documentary on killer roads is set to feature a West Fife route notorious for its accident blackspot junction.
London-based Reef Television are investigating the A985 Rosyth to Kincardine route as part of a five-part series called Britain's Killer Roads.
The accident-prone A985 has witnessed numerous accidents and only last December Crombie man Grant Sinclair was killed after being hit by a car as he walked along the road on a Saturday night.
Director Owen Rodd claimed they were initially attracted to the route due to it being "statistically one of the most improved roads in the country" for accidents.
However, the film-makers soon discovered passions still run high among campaigners desperate to see more improvements made to the road, particularly at the "extremely dangerous" junction turning into Limekilns.
West Fife and Coastal Villages councillor Gerry McMullan (right) has lobbied successfully for increased road safety measures on the A985 in the past, such as speed-activated warning signs.
He warned, "There are still some serious areas within that 20-mile stretch of road and Transport Scotland have put in no significant amounts of money to make the road safer for drivers.
"A great deal of work needs to be done and they have to look at the bigger picture and longer term.
"With all the work that's meant to be coming into Rosyth, with the aircraft carriers and new Forth crossing, it is going to put such a huge amount of pressure on the A985.
"Transport Scotland have to be proactive instead of being reactive in bringing in safety measures for that road." The Limekilns junction has become a notoriously precarious spot among village residents trying to pull out on to the main carriageway.
At a meeting with the documentary makers one local resident, who did not want to be named, described his first hand experience of how dangerous the junction could be.
He said, "My late wife was driving and when we got to the junction three cars were coming from Rosyth about 300 yards away.
"There was no traffic coming from Kincardine and the first car started its left winker to turn into Limekilns. "My wife pulled out and was halfway across the junction when idiot number two came alongside the front car doing about 60mph.
"If my wife had not accelerated I would not be here today as he would have rammed us at 60mph.
"She had a hell of a job and had to put her foot on the throttle and go for it.
"That junction is a disaster waiting to happen and waiting for another fatality." Charlestown, Limekilns and Pattiesmuir Community Council chair Suze Anderson said, "That happens on a daily basis.
"Sometimes it can be your only chance to get out and if someone comes flying over the hill from Rosyth it can be extremely dangerous.
"It's a subject that appears every month at the community council. It almost feels like the changes that were made to the old road have only increased the options to go wrong. "Before, traffic would be backed up along the road when somebody wanted to turn into the junction. Now there are issues with enough space to overtake and speed." Councillor McMullan said he believed a roundabout or traffic lights were necessary to make the junction safer.
"The traffic lights could be temporary, switching them on at 6.30am to 10am, then again from 4pm to 7.30pm, giving people the opportunity to get out safely." He added that when he had asked Transport Scotland officers what improvements were viable he was told that a roundabout would be too expensive.
"They said the amount of investment could not be justified for an area of road which is not as bad as other roads in Scotland.
"I then asked why and I was informed that there were not enough fatalities or traffic to warrant such expenditure. "I asked exactly how many fatal injuries does it take to have a dangerous junction improved?
"I was told that if a major accident happened with many injuries this junction would certainly need to be improved straight away." A Transport Scotland spokesman said, "We have undertaken a number of safety improvements on the A985, including speed limit reduction, installation of vehicle-activated signage and surface treatments.
"Whilst there has been a reduction in accidents along this route following these improvements, we continue to monitor the road and assess its safety performance."
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