Coming together for an evening of education, a local sporting club has delivered a profound discussion and demonstration on road safety in the Dandenong Ranges.
Recently launching a short film online created from a Road Safety education night, the Monbulk Football and Netball Community (MFNC) has banded with first responders to make a stand for road safety.
Aptly and poignantly named, the road safety night held in July was named ‘It starts and ends with us’, and the MFNC, along with Monbulk CFA, Ambulance Victoria, Victoria Police, and the Bendigo Bank in Monbulk, have now produced a powerful film capturing the evening held at the club a few weeks earlier.
“The evening was moving, confronting, and incredibly eye-opening for the 120-plus members in attendance – a timely reminder that the responsibility of road safety belongs to all of us,” read the MFNC’s social media page.
The community at MFNC, along with the local CFA, got the ball rolling to hold the community night, which was held a few weeks ago, which saw talks by first responders, a live car demonstration and stories from families in the community who had lost loved ones to road accidents.
Monbulk CFA Captain Hickingbotham said hearing from these families was amazing.
“It was so powerful and so courageous of them to speak. You could see the impact in the audience,” he said.
MFNC’s Team Manager for the Under 18 boys, Cindy Downey, said the evening was brilliant, and she also picked up some little things.
“You can always learn something about road safety, about the differences when you brake, or if you are even 10km over,” she said.
“Everyone needs those reminders, like not to look at your phone.”
Captain Hickingbotham said the education night was a great opportunity to make a lasting impact on the younger cohort in the hills.
“So they can make smart decisions down the track when faced with a decision about what to do, whether to get into a car with someone they know might have been drinking or with their own driving,” he said.
“The consequences are very real and wide, impacting across their family and friends and school and the footy club.”
Ms Downey said it was really good for the kids.
“I’m hoping that, if anything, they took away the fact that they’re not the idiot for saying, No, I won’t get in the car,” she said.
The head of the Major Collision Investigation Unit from Victoria Police, Detective Inspector Craig McEvoy, said the road safety night was a great opportunity to meet with the local community.
“To raise awareness of road safety in an effort to reduce road trauma and impacts to families and the community,” he said.
The night was MC’d by one of the football team members, and while it was confronting, it delivered a captivating message that seemed to get through to the attendees, using a ripple effect exercise to show exactly how many people can be affected by road accidents.
Talking with kids who attended the evening, Ms Downey said the exercise made a big impression, as did seeing and hearing from the volunteers and first responders in the room.
“In the end, the whole room was standing up because of one accident,” she said.
CFA also got attendees up and outside to watch a live rescue demonstration on a car flipped onto its side with two mannequins sitting inside.
The demonstration provided a close-up look at what a road accident can do to both a car and how responders approach the scenes.
Hearing the passion behind the job of the police was also quite an interesting note that people took away, and Ms Downey said the police officers who attended explained that they weren’t there to just pick people up for speeding, rather, they are there to support new drivers on the road.
“He said they are there to speak for those who can’t,” she said.
Feedback from the evening has been positive, and Captain Hickingbotham said they had families sitting and having conversations with kids for an hour when they got home, talking through the very real impact of road trauma.
“People have said it was amazing,” he said.
“Hopefully something, some, even one thing, has sunk in and it will trickle through into the community,” said Ms Downey.
The club hope to hold similar events every few years to keep engaging young minds and the broader community.
For now, people can view the video online on both Monbulk FNC and Monbulk CFA’s social media pages.
