Nippers in peril playing close to roads (6)
I believe the answer is:
pliers
'nippers' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'peril playing close to roads' is the wordplay.
'playing' indicates anagramming the letters.
'close to' suggests the final letters (the close/ending of).
The last letter of 'roads' is 's'.
'peril' anagrammed gives 'plier'.
'plier'+'s'='PLIERS'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for pliers that I've seen before include "Nippers" , "Tool with jaws for gripping small objects" , "Gripping tool with two serrated jaws" , "Workmen's tools" , "Small tool for gripping things" .)