By MICHELLE HERBISON
CATS’ star Andrew Mackie has hosted a mentoring session with a road safety message for Geelong Falcons players ahead of their hit-out against the Northern Knights this Saturday.
The game will be the Falcons’ first game at Simonds Stadium in the 2013 TAC Cup.
Mackie showed Falcons’ Alex Hickey, James Tsitas and Jye Cross around the ground, sharing stories of success since Geelong’s 2007 breakthrough AFL premiership.
Three-time premiership player Mackie said getting practice behind the wheel was as important to driving as training was to producing results on the footy field.
“I know my time as a learner driver helped me prepare for driving on the roads, so it’s crucial the TAC Cup players and all other L-platers get their 120 hours up.”
TAC road safety major projects manager Liz Waller said the TAC’s sponsorship of the under-18 competition, spanning more than two decades, aimed to deliver the reminder that “speed hurts”.
“Speed is one of the biggest killers on our roads,” Ms Waller said.
“In 1991, the year before our partnership with this competition began, more than 500 people died on Victorian roads. Over time, we have worked to reduce this figure dramatically to fewer than 300.”
Recently released TAC data revealed that 20 to 29-year-olds were most likely to be involved in no-fault accident claims in Victoria.
“This reinforces the need for the newest drivers on our roads to be as best prepared for this period of their lives as possible,” Ms Waller said.
