Blue armbands to help drive down road trauma

MORE than 1,200 football and netball clubs across Victoria will eventually support a new initiative for the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and AFL Victoria Road Safety Round.

For the 30th year of their partnership with AFL Victoria, the TAC spread their message of eliminating deaths and serious injuries on the roads to more than 400,000 Victorians involved in sporting clubs.

The Band Together campaign features St Kilda coach and AFL legend Brett Ratten, who lost his son Cooper to a road accident in 2016, alongside a mother, local shop owner, police officer, local club captain and coach, who have each had an experience with road safety.

On the blue armbands is a QR code, which houses video content of reasons why road safety matters to the ambassadors.

The TAC is asking everyone to not only wear the band, but also their own story on social media in the hope that it will inspire others to be better on the roads.

Officially launched over the weekend of August 6-8, the initiative will see club captains, players, and their communities wear a blue armband to represent their commitment to eliminating deaths and serious injuries on Victoria’s roads.

As community sport was cancelled last weekend due to lockdown, AFL Victoria is encouraging regional Victorian clubs to wear their blue armbands this weekend, with metropolitan Melbourne clubs to join in at the first opportunity.

Following a year that saw community sport cancelled, TAC chief executive officer Joe Calafiore said the 2021 Road Safety Round was about bringing the community together to change attitudes around road safety.

“This year we wanted to focus on the idea that being safe on the road is the responsibility of every driver, and that we all have a role to play in making our roads safer for our communities,” he said.

“Tragically, we’ve already lost 92 Victorians on the road this year, so let’s band together to reduce the amount of accidents on our roads.”

Through the TAC Club Grants program, clubs that get involved with the campaign can use their contribution as part of their application for a $10,000 grant.

“Road Safety Round brings together the communities that surround Victoria’s grassroots football and netball clubs to help us stop trauma on our roads,” Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll said.

“This work doesn’t only happen during Road Safety Round; Victoria’s sporting communities support and encourage their members year-round to make safe decisions on the roads.

“Footballers and netballers travel hundreds of kilometres every year for games and practices and we want them to have road safety front of mind during every journey.”

For more information, head to the TAC website.