Towards zero
The Dusties took part in a state wide campaign on Saturday to promote the inaugural TAC Towards Zero Round.
For the first time in the TAC’s 28-year-long partnership with AFL Victoria, the TAC coordinated a state-wide, fixtured round for all grassroots and community football and netball clubs.
Through the TAC’s partnership with AFL Victoria, the Towards Zero Round will enable the TAC to share the message of road safety with more than 400,000 Victorians who are involved in local sporting clubs across the state.
Dusties were one of more than 1000 local football captains, as well as other team players, wearing the number 0 on their backs instead of their usual jumper number.
TAC acting chief executive officer Bruce Crossett said the Towards Zero round aims to highlight the real value of reaching zero deaths on our roads and why it’s something all Victorians should be working towards.
“Grassroots football and netball clubs are the life blood of their communities and I’m sure you would be hard pressed to find someone involved who hasn’t been affected by road trauma,” Mr Crossett said.
“We believe that zero is the only acceptable number of deaths on our roads, but we need everyone to play their part,” he said.
“This round is putting road safety at the fore and we’re asking everyone to prioritise safety to make sure every journey is a safe one.”
Alarmingly, 172 Victorians have already lost their lives on the roads this year, up from 113 at the same time as last year (52-per-cent increase). Tragically, 101 of these deaths have occurred on regional roads, compared with 59 the same time in 2018.