PORT Adelaide forward Daniel Motlop is one of several AFL stars who’ve shared personal stories in a TV road safety campaign targeting Indigenous communities.
Daniel, his brother Steven and other players - including Andrew McLeod, Alwyn Davey and Austin Wonaeamirri - speak candidly about the impact drink driving has had on relatives and friends.
Daniel recounts the story of a close friend who was in a car with a drunk driver who lost control and killed a pedestrian.
Stephen tells how his and Daniel’s grandfather died while walking to a football game and being hit by a car driven by someone over the blood-alcohol limit.
“Too many people have been affected by drivers making stupid mistakes and I want to be part of the answer to stopping that senseless waste of life,” Daniel said.
McLeod - who lost a cousin in a drink-driving crash - says the campaign aims to shock people and encourage them to think about the consequences of their actions on themselves and others.
“Think before you actually decide to get behind the wheel,” McLeod said. “Think about the impact and the effect it’s going to have on other people if you make the wrong decision.”
The TV campaign is an initiative of RADD: Recording Artists, Actors & Athletes Against Drink Driving. RADD Director Peter Rubinstein was motivated to produce the campaign after travelling to Darwin for the Indigenous All Stars game in 2009.
“I just couldn’t believe the number of those boys who’d been touched in one way or another by the tragedy of drink-driving in the Territory,” Mr Rubinstein said.
RADD approached the NT-based footballers, knowing the influence they have in local communities.
“To young kids in indigenous communities … these guys are genuinely looked up to in a way very different to the way footballers are elsewhere. It is a whole different dimension,” Mr Rubinstein said.
“We wanted people from the Northern Territory so people in the Northern Territory would say look, they’re one of ours.”
The players willingly shared their experiences, no matter how painful they were to speak of.
“This is a powerful story that needs to be told and needs to be told in a way that is accepted and understood by those who need to hear it,” Mr Rubinstein said.
“That is through story telling which is part of the culture. It is how you relate to Indigenous people. It is telling the stories. It is not just people telling people not to drink and drive.”
The 90-second ads will be broadcast throughout the Northern Territory and reach Indigenous communities in other parts of Australia via the Imparja, National Indigenous TV and commercial networks.
