Be the Difference: Road Safety at Kinglake JFC in 2026
Every weekend, our players, coaches, volunteers and families drive to training and games on some of the toughest roads in Victoria. This page is our chance to share the road safety messages that matter most to our community, and to be upfront about why we get behind them.
Why we back TAC Club Rewards
Kinglake JFC is part of the TAC Club Rewards program again this season. In simple terms, when we commit to sharing road safety messaging with our community, TAC supports our club financially in return. That funding goes straight back into things like our player development and wellbeing program, equipment, and keeping registration fees affordable for local families.
We think that's worth being upfront about. It's not just an important message, it also directly helps the club. We'd rather our members knew that and got behind it for both reasons.
Driving our roads
If you live around Kinglake, you already know our roads ask more of you than most. Fog, rain, potholes, wildlife, and long stretches with no street lighting at all are just part of getting to training and games. A lot of our Under 16s are also at the age where they're starting to learn to drive, so these conditions aren't abstract for them, they're the roads they'll be learning on.
A few things worth keeping front of mind on the drive to and from footy:
Slow down. Speeding contributes to at least 30% of fatal crashes on Victorian roads. Your team would rather you were late to training or the game than not arrive at all. There's no excuse for speeding.
Stay off your phone. A quick glance at a text or a change of playlist can mean your eyes are off the road for longer than you think. Turn on Do Not Disturb before you drive, and keep your phone out of reach.
Drive to the conditions, not just the limit. Wet roads, fog, and wildlife on our local roads mean the safe speed is often well under the sign anyway.
Give your car a quick check. Tyres in particular. Good tyres make a real difference to braking and grip on our wet, winding local roads. If you're not sure, there are tyre specialists in Kinglake, Whittlesea and Hurstbridge who can help.
Band Together for Road Safety Round
Road Safety Round fell on 25–26 July this year. We'd planned something special: with our own ground out of action for renewal works, we organised to hire Windy Hill Oval so we could still host a proper Road Safety and Emergency Services Round for our kids, scoreboard messaging and all. Heavy rain in the lead-up put a stop to that, and the booking fell through at the last minute.
We didn't let that be the end of it. Our players still wore TAC's blue Band Together armbands, in honour of lives lost on Victorian roads. As we said at the time:
“This one matters up here. Our families drive dark country roads to get to training and games. Fog, rain, potholes, wildlife, no street lights, and often at the end of a long day. For our older kids, these are the roads they’re learning to drive on. Show up for your team. Slow down on the road. Your team would rather you were late to training or the game than not arrive at all. There’s no excuse for speeding.”
Take the survey, it takes five minutes
TAC also runs a short Road Safety Survey each season, and every response genuinely helps our club. It asks about attitudes to road safety and what road safety messaging you've seen around the club this year.
Please share it with family and friends connected to the club too. The more responses, the better it is for Kinglake.
What we've done this season
A quick summary, for anyone who wants the full picture:
Signed up to TAC Club Rewards again this year, our second season in the program, discussed and supported by the Committee back in March.
Ran a season-long stream of social media posts using TAC's "Be the Difference" branding, covering speeding, distraction, and driving to the conditions on our roads.
Self-funded a "Be the Difference — Show Up for Your Team, Slow Down on the Road" banner, up on the fence line from the start of the season until 9 June, when ground renewal works began at Kinglake Memorial Reserve.
Advocated for goal netting at Kinglake Memorial Reserve, where balls currently go over the fence onto Whittlesea-Kinglake Road (an 80km/h road), with families and kids having to retrieve them from live traffic. Our local member, Cindy McLeish MP, raised it in State Parliament in February, and we've since worked with Murrindindi Shire Council to have the netting we've been saving for folded into the existing ground renewal works.
Took the message beyond the club, with Justin speaking at a Rotary Club of Kinglake Ranges Youth Showcase night on 13 June, alongside SES, CFA and Council representatives.
Organised to host Road Safety Round at Windy Hill Oval after losing our own ground, before rain forced its cancellation, and still had our players wear TAC's blue Band Together armbands for our Under 14s' away game at Greensborough.
Promoted the TAC Road Safety Survey to our whole community via social media.
