Royal Life Saving’s Make the Right Call campaign encourages all Australians – especially males – to look after their mates to keep each other safe when enjoying the country’s beautiful inland waterways.
Our research has shown that drowning continues to affect more men than women – in fact, men are four times more likely to drown than women, a statistic that has not changed for many years. In addition, we’ve found that, over the past 10 years, inland waterways have claimed more lives than any other location, accounting for 40% of all drowning deaths in Australia.
Unsurprisingly, many of these deaths occur in the summer months – 41% of deaths in the past 10 years have occurred in summer.
Add to this the effects of alcohol and you’ve got a tragedy waiting to happen.
This campaign tackles these issues head on by targeting men aged 25 to 45 years to raise awareness of the issues and educate them about the risks and consequences of their actions when recreating in, on and around water.
It advocates a common sense approach by asking them to ‘Make the Right Call’ and look after themselves and their mates to keep them safe by implementing a series of simple safety measures.
This campaign is supported by the Australian Government.
Avoid alcohol around water
We all have a mate who or gets his priorities wrong and can't handle his alcohol. When enjoying our rivers, make the right call...to keep your mates safe.
Alcohol reduces coordination and can impair a person’s judgement and reaction time, thereby reducing inhibition and distorting the perception of risk.
Leave the booze until safely away from the water, look out for your mates and pull them into line if they’re under the influence and thinking about doing something reckless near water such as swimming or boating.
Wear a lifejacket when on the water
We all have a mate who is forgetful and needs reminding about his own safety. When enjoying your boating or paddling, make the right call...to keep your mates safe.
Lifejackets are the most important piece of safety equipment on any recreational vessel. With the modern comfortable design of lifejackets which doesn’t inhibit your recreational activities there is really no excuse not to wear a lifejacket. It is great to have them on your boat but, if you are not wearing your lifejacket, it cannot save your life.
Every year lives are lost in recreational boating incidents. Tragically, many could have survived had they been wearing a lifejacket, especially in smaller vessels.
Avoid going alone around water
‘Make the right call’ – love the water, enjoy the water but do it safely while looking after yourselves and your mates.
Adult males are more likely to participate in aquatic recreational activity alone than any other demographic.
Royal Life Saving research indicates that most males are underestimating the risk in Inland waterways and overestimating their abilities.
Thinking ‘it won’t happen to me’ is too often the call made – our work shows that poor decision making can lead to tragedy.
