For more than quarter of a century, the Transport Accident Commission has been helping injured Victorians piece their lives back together following transport accidents. In seeking to make Victorians safer, it is critical that the TAC partners with the community to ensure all Victorians are on board with the state’s new Towards Zero vision – working towards a future where no person is killed or seriously injured on the roads. In addition to its world-renowned accident prevention work, the TAC is involved in a number of community partnerships and other activities designed to help those in need and encourage safer road use.
HELPING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
On a local level, the TAC has been a platinum partner of Give Where You Live since their arrival in Geelong several years ago. The TAC’s support of initiatives like the Give Where You Live MAYDAY and Feed Geelong Appeal and staff participation in events such as Geelong Riverfest and the Dawnbusters Fun Run as well as a range of other philanthropic organisations has impacted on the lives of tens of thousands of people in the region.
TOWARDS ZERO
Shared responsibility is a key theme of the TAC’s new Towards Zero approach to road safety. It’s about building a better overall roads system and every person in the Geelong region has a role to play by being safer drivers, driving safer cars and travelling at safer speeds. At the heart of the new Towards Zero campaign is the belief that human health is more important than anything else – more important that saving a few minutes in travel time. Towards Zero sets the bar high but, without that ambition, we are accepting that deaths and serious injuries are just part of the cost of having a road network. We can never accept that. If we are to achieve the goals of Towards Zero, we must acknowledge that mistakes will always be made on the roads. By building safer roads, ensuring we drive safer cars and travelling at safer speeds, Victorians will be cushioned from death or serious injury in the event of a mistake. The TAC would like every person in the Geelong to consider what they can do to protect themselves and the ones they love from road trauma as we all work towards a better future together.
As one of the Geelong region’s biggest employers, the TAC understands that its responsibility to the local area extends beyond its road safety work and support of people injured on the roads. Many of the 700 employees at its Geelong headquarters donate money directly from their regular pay packets to the Give Where You Live Workplace Giving Program. The TAC support many worthy community causes and you’ll see the TAC’s breath testing teams helping people get home safely from local events like the Geelong Cup and some Geelong Cats games. But while the TAC’s community ties are reflected in these programs, it is the ongoing effort to better protect the lives and welfare of the community – the mothers and fathers, sons and daughters who use our roads – that underscores the TAC’s deepest community commitment.