TAC Thanks Victorians for Wiping off 5

13 Sep 2013

A senior citizens group and a country Victorian high school with fewer than 200 students have won the praise of the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) for their contribution to road safety.

Donald High School and the Birchip Senior Citizens Club were today announced as two of the winners in the TAC’s ‘How Will You Wipe off 5?’ promotion.

Other winners included the Broadford CFA Brigade, Cudgewa Football Netball Club and a 36-year-old man from Langwarrin who all made short videos highlighting the dangers of low-level speeding.

The Birchip Senior Citizens Club did their bit to reduce road trauma by dedicating a section of their website to the Wipe off 5 campaign.

The five winners, whose entries can be seen online at www.wipeoff5.com.au have all been awarded with $5000 for their efforts.

It was the first time the TAC had asked Victorians to take an active role in one of their campaigns, by showing how they would Wipe off 5 and share their ideas on social media.

TAC Marketing Senior Manager, Simon Strahan, said more than 2000 entries were received.

“It was outstanding to see the Victorian community get behind this campaign and share their road safety ideas with us,” he said.

“Everyone who got involved should be proud because the standard of entries was extremely high and we are so appreciative of their efforts.

“At the end of the day, we are all in this together and to see this level of community support for road safety is really encouraging,” Mr Strahan said. 

The Wipe off 5 campaign, which aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of low-level speeding, included social media activity, community participation activities and an advertising campaign featuring famous AFL number 5’s, Chris Judd and Nick Maxwell.

A state-wide road show of the Wipe off 5 message also ran throughout August, visiting about 30 towns and cities along the way.
 
Mr Strahan said the TAC was thankful for the entire state’s contribution to the campaign.

“We have seen over the past month that Victorians have a real appetite for getting involved in our campaigns to help save lives.

“We’ll be looking at ways we can do this again in future because it’s a serious issue that requires all of our attention,” he said.

For further information please contact Sarah Henderson on 0429 294 262