Blue armbands will be a familiar sight across courts in the South East after Basketball Victoria partnered with the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to support a new road safety initiative that will see tens of thousands of grassroots and elite sportspeople join its mission to saves lives and prevent injuries on the state’s roads.
The partnership was announced recently at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne joined the TAC and leaders from Basketball Victoria, Cricket Victoria and Football Victoria to launch the expanded program, which will engage more than 1,700 sporting clubs statewide.
At the centre of the initiative is the TAC Club Participation Program, which will see Road Safety Rounds delivered across multiple sports.
Basketball Victoria will activate its Road Safety Round from January 19 to February 1, with players, coaches and officials wearing blue armbands to Band Together for road safety awareness and in recognition of those impacted by road trauma.
Basketball Victoria CEO Nick Honey said the initiative reflects the scale, reach and responsibility of basketball communities across metropolitan, regional and rural Victoria.
“Basketball is Victoria’s highest-participation team sport, with more than 691,000 participants and over 29 million visits to basketball venues each year,” Honey said.
“Our participants, particularly young drivers, parents and supporters, travel more kilometres per season than any other team sport, with 100 of our associations located outside metropolitan areas. “This partnership allows us to speak directly to our community about making safer choices every time they get behind the wheel.”
Through the program, community basketball clubs will be eligible to share in merchandise and vouchers valued at $40,000 by demonstrating how they are actively promoting road safety within their local communities.
Across summer, the pilot will focus on the dangers of speed, equipping clubs with resources to promote the TAC’s campaign messages: Slow down on the road. Make the right choice. Be the Difference.
These messages reinforce the shared responsibility all road users have to keep themselves and others safe.
TAC CEO Tracey Slatter said sporting organisations play a vital role in influencing positive behaviour beyond the field of play.
“The TAC is proud to expand its involvement in grassroots sport to reach as many people as possible with the simple but lifesaving message to slow down,” Slatter said.
“Whether it’s players, families, volunteers or supporters, sporting communities have the power to model safe driving behaviour and create lasting cultural change.”
The initiative builds on the success of the TAC’s Club Rewards program, which has seen hundreds of football and netball clubs become road safety advocates across Victoria over the past six years.
Elite basketball clubs, including Melbourne United and Bendigo Spirit, will also amplify road safety messages throughout the season, extending the campaign’s reach to fans and members across the state.
The partnership comes after 288 people lost their lives on Victorian roads last year, with speeding a major contributor to around 30 per cent of fatalities.
The TAC has recently launched its major holiday road safety advertising campaign, featuring new television ads highlighting the dangers of speed and drink driving.
