SENIOR RUGBY PLAYERS ‘BELT UP’ THIS WEEKEND

WESTERN FORCE MEDIA RELEASE
Tuesday, 14 July 2015


RugbyWA’s Pindan Senior Grades will host the second annual ‘Belt-Up’ Round this weekend.

The round, held in conjunction with the Insurance Commission of Western Australia, promotes public awareness of road safety and aims to reduce the number of incidents on the road within the community.

The ‘Belt Up’ round will culminate in the Pindan Premier Grade Match of the Round between UWA and Nedlands at McGillivray Oval.

Every year, approximately 38 people killed in road crashes in WA are not wearing a seat belt, with people 10 times more likely to be killed in a road accident if they are not wearing a seat belt.

As part of its grassroots support for community sport as a method to help reduce crashes and injury insurance claims, the Insurance Commission has provided 32 WA rugby clubs with ‘Belt Up’ branded rugby balls, bags and hit shields.

The Insurance Commission receives thousands of personal injury claims from car accidents and pays out hundreds of millions of dollars to injured people each year. Public awareness to try and sustain fewer and less serious injuries from motor vehicle accidents, leads to less and lower cost insurance claims being received. This helps keep CTP premiums affordable.

RugbyWA’s General Manager, Game Development, Adam Crane says the Belt Up message is an important one for the rugby and broader communities.

“We have a duty of care to our players while they’re on the field, and we’re obviously keen to do what we can to protect our players when they’re off it as well,” he said.

“Belting up seems like such a simple thing to do, but when you hear about the number of people killed and injured each year from not wearing their seatbelts, it’s a message that we need to continue to promote.”

Commission Secretary, Kane Blackman says it is important to promote public safety on the road as well as reducing the cost of insurance claims, which reached almost $500 million in claims payments last year.

“Unfortunately, crashes are overrepresented by young men, and many of which play sport in our communities. We hope young men listen to the message of wearing a seat belt.

“Injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident is something that could happen to anyone. The consequences to the injured and their families can be extreme.

“We would rather see people playing rugby than hurt in a car crash and have to submit an injury claim to us.”