Vander Esch (at picnic table) takes the crew through his most recent video shoot for the Office of Highway Safety.

Behind the scenes with NFL linebacker,
Riggins hometown star

Dallas Cowboy’s Linebacker, and Idaho native, Leighton Vander Esch is back again, partnering with the Office of Highway Safety (OHS) starring in two new PSAs for the “Rules to LVE By” campaign. 
 
The educational campaign is now in its second year and this is the second round of commercials with Vander Esch.  
 
The focus of these PSAs are seat belt use, especially among rural Idahoans. The concept, Vander Esch presents rules Idahoans “live” by. Rules like never wearing cologne when hunting, or how big views have a way of making problems feel small, and ending with the final and hard fast rule of always buckling up.  
 
To get this shoot scheduled and underway required not only shooting amid Covid 19 restrictions, but also getting Vander Esch from Riggins to Idaho City shortly after the Riggins slide.  
 
“We scheduled the shoot around Leighton’s schedule, but like so many other things in 2020, we had to adjust plans at the 11th hour to make it happen,” said Office of Highway Safety’s Grants Officer Bill Kotowski. 
 
Luckily, Vander Esch made it to Idaho City bright and early July 8, the morning of the shoot. Behind the scenes everyone wore masks, kept six feet apart, and limited the crew and talent on location.     
 
“Production this year may have been a logistical challenge, but we are very happy with the fact that we could schedule this shoot and keep this partnership going,” said Kotowski. 
 
Vander Esch grew up in Riggins, where he played for Salmon River High School. After high school, Leighton headed south to Boise to play on the blue turf. He earned his spot as a standout as he went from walk-on to defensive player of the year – making him one of the top prospects in college football. Not long after that, Dallas came calling. 
 
“Leighton appeals to those in rural communities,” said Office of Highway Safety Manager John Tomlinson. “That’s a big part in what makes this partnership so great. We know that seat belts save lives and we’re so grateful that Leighton is willing to use his platform to share that message.” 
 
Statistics show that 85% of people in Idaho buckle up. At the same time, nearly two-thirds of people killed in motor vehicle crashes were not properly restrained. The majority of those people were killed on rural roads. 
 
The first commercials featuring Vander Esch and his personal rules were released this February, and can be seen at
shift-idaho.org/buckleupidaho. The latest ads are in postproduction now and should make their debut later this year.  

Published 07-24-20