Robinson family urge young footballers to slow down

THE Robinsons have urged Drysdale’s young sportspeople to slow down and not take risks on the road, as their family is a living illustration of the consequences.

On March 28, 2010, 19-year-old Luke Robinson lost control of his car on Anakie Road, Lovely Banks.

Luke was killed, one of his passengers was seriously injured and the other two suffered minor injuries.

Luke’s parents Leanne and Norm have been campaigning for road safety ever since, including as part of the Transport Accident Commission’s (TAC) award-winning “Ripple Effect” advertising campaign in 2010.

The Bannockburn couple visited the Drysdale Football Club on Thursday last week to share their story again, including the exact cirumstances of Luke’s fatal crash, and spoke to a full house in the clubrooms.

Norm said Luke was known as a safe driver among his friends, but making only one mistake was enough to be fatal.

“We would have done anything to make sure Luke didn’t speed, so we are what is left from one stupid decision behind the wheel.

“Our family of four became three. He didn’t turn up to his younger brother Jai’s 21st, there’s no more stupid Christmas photos, Father’s Days are s**t, Mother’s Days are crap.

“He was our pageboy when we got married; how good do you reckon that is for us now?

“And we have another anniversary every year – 28th of March, 12.50 in the morning, every single year.

“The reason why we do what we do is to let you know the realistic outcome of doing stupid things on the road.”

He said road crashes were the highest cause of death for Victorians aged 15-24, with 162 lives lost on Victorian roads in the calendar year to midnight on July 11 – a nearly 30 per cent increase.

Of those, 120 were aged between 16 and 39, with the overwhelming majority (87) being male.

Norm noted most deaths on the road occurred on a Thursday, with the most fatalities taking place between 2pm and 8pm – the same time young men were heading to and from footy training.

The event was timed to take place just before the TAC’s “Band Together” round on July 22-23, which sees country and suburban football and netball clubs wear blue armbands to honour the lives that have ben touched by road trauma.

“The Robinson family have bravely agreed to share their story to encourage drivers to slow down,” Drysdale Football Club president and local GP David Walder said.

“They want drivers, particularly young drivers, to be aware of the ripple effect caused by every death on our roads,”

TAC head of road safety Samantha Cockfield said too many people have died on Victorian roads this year.

“We know that distracted driving is a key and prevalent issue among young to middle-aged drivers, thousands of whom spend many hours at local sporting clubs every week.

“Victoria’s football and netball clubs are often at the heart of their communities and prioritising road safety within local clubs could be the reason someone gets home safely, instead of a tragic alternative.”