Vic footy clubs band together for road safety

Local football and netball clubs across the state will band together for the annual Road Safety Round this coming weekend, as hundreds of thousands of Victorians become road safety ambassadors.

Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne joined the Transport Accident Commission, AFL Victoria and members from Springvale Football Netball Club, to launch the round with ambassador and former Western Bulldogs player Mitch Wallis.

Wallis, who now plays for St Kevin’s in the Victorian Amateur Football Association, has been a passionate road safety ambassador since the tragic death of his mother-in-law Katie, who was hit by a car in Melbourne in 2022.

Road Safety Round, in its sixth year, will see Victoria’s regional and suburban clubs don blue armbands to pay tribute to everyone killed or injured on the state’s roads, and ‘Band Together’ for road safety.

The campaign is the cornerstone of the TAC’s partnership with AFL Victoria and has developed into a key milestone of the regional and metropolitan leagues’ fixtures. 

So far this year, 148 people have lost their lives on Victoria’s roads and 79 of those have been on regional roads, where footy and netball club members are covering thousands of kilometres for games and training every week. 

This year, clubs are being asked to educate members about the dangers of speeding, encouraging their members to Show up for your team. Slow down on the road. Peer-to-peer conversations at local sporting clubs are vital in changing attitudes, creating a culture that values road safety and keeping everyone safe on Victoria’s roads. 

AFL teams, including Essendon, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs, will support Road Safety Round by wearing the blue armbands during training this week.

Local clubs have been sent blue armbands. More information about Road Safety Round can be found at tac.vic.gov.au/bandtogether

Quote attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne:

“Local football and netball clubs are often at the heart of their communities and are in a great position to lead important conversations about being safe on our roads.” 

Quote attributable to Transport Accident Commission CEO Tracey Slatter:

“We all have a role to play in creating a safer road network and working with local footy and netball clubs allows us to make real change and embed a culture of prioritising road safety.”

Quote attributable to Head of AFL Victoria Greg Madigan:

“Road Safety Round has become an important milestone on the community footy calendar, sending a really clear message that we all need to play a role to keep ourselves and our wider communities safe when driving.”