The Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA) has renewed its partnership with Netball WA for the sixth year running to promote its Belt up road safety campaign.

The tie-up will see almost 7,000 Belt up-branded netballs distributed to more than 1,200 senior community netball teams in regional and metropolitan areas across the state, in a bid to encourage seat belt use to reduce the severity of injury in a car accident.

According to ICWA, in 2017 alone, 71 people who were not wearing a seat belt were killed or seriously injured on WA roads.

“It’s frustrating for us at the Insurance Commission to assess motor injury claims from people badly hurt in car crashes where it’s clear they weren’t wearing a seat belt,” said Rod Whithear, ICWA chief executive. “That behaviour unfortunately results in more serious injuries, which can have lifetime consequences for them and their families. By working with Netball WA, we can get this important road safety message out to the community. Lessening car crash trauma leads to better outcomes for the injured person, while helping keep motor injury insurance premiums more affordable for all drivers.”

“The Belt up message will again literally be in the hands of thousands of netballers across Western Australia,” said Simon Taylor, Netball WA CEO. “Netball is played in every major town across the state and we want these Belt up balls to be a reminder to all of our participants to stay safe on our roads. Our purpose is advancing netball, advancing communities, and we’re proud to continue to raise awareness of such an important campaign.”

Other sporting partners of ICWA’s Belt Up campaign include West Australian Country Football League (WACFL), RugbyWA, and Football West.