Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield speaks out on road safety: ‘It’s about having honest conversations with those around you and doing it in a positive way’
Patrick Dangerfield says dangerous drivers need to “pull their heads in” as he spearheads a road safety campaign following the horror death of his uncle.
Victoria
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Patrick Dangerfield’s uncle Tim was drink-driving when a car ploughed through a red light to end his life and change his own family forever.
These days as his nephew drives home to Moggs Creek, it is the stream of drivers texting while behind the wheel that shocks and frustrates the Geelong captain.
Dangerfield has long been an advocate for responsible drinking given uncle Tim Utber’s death 29 years ago, but this week adds a role as an ambassador for AFL Victoria’s Road Safety Round.
This coming weekend Victorian AFL teams and hundreds of community clubs will wear bold blue armbands to honour lives lost or changed by road trauma.
Dangerfield doesn’t need a reminder of the road safety message given the events of the mid-1990s as his mother Jeanette’s brother took to the road.
“My uncle died when he was 20 and it reshaped our entire family. I was only six at the time but it shaped me because it shaped mum. It was something she never got over,” he told the Herald Sun.
“He was drink-driving and he shouldn’t have been on the road. He didn’t cause the accident but he was driving through some traffic lights and someone sped through a red light. It hit him and he died.
“He shouldn’t have been on the road to begin with and then through a set of circumstances and poor road management he ended up passing away. Talking to dad, he says mum took five or 10 years to get over it and has always been very cautious on the roads.
“His organs were donated and funnily enough it had a positive consequence to other families. So I have a family connection, but you can see it yourself now with kids and their limited attention spans.”
Dangerfield and Collingwood captain Darcy Moore will spearhead the campaign, and for the Cats skipper it is a true passion project.
“People drive past an accident and you can be angry or stressed about it because you are late to work but it has affected an entire community or family,” he said.
“When that happens to someone you know, your world is changed forever. The road safety message starts with yourself. You can only talk about it if you exhibit good behaviour and live by it.
“It’s about having honest conversations with those around you and doing it in a positive way. If you are a terrible driver, pull your head in.
“Be a good role model to your kids. They see everything. The amount of people I see on their phones or texting and driving is amazing.”
“So with road safety round it’s about honouring the people impacted by it and spreading that message at community clubs and also honouring the hundreds of Victorians who die on regional roads every year.”
Originally published as Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield speaks out on road safety: ‘It’s about having honest conversations with those around you and doing it in a positive way’
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