The Blue Datto Foundation  just received funding from the Department of Justice to deliver its road safety program, Keeping Safe, to regional areas after concentrating its effort in the western Sydney area. 

Its regional tour will take the program to students at Oberon High School in March, as well as schools in the Wagga Wagga, Albury, Byron/Ballina and upper Hunter regions.

The Blue Datto Foundation was established following the death of 17-year-old Philip Vassallo in a crash where both drivers were red P-platers.

Colleen Vassallo, the co-founder of Blue Datto and Philip’s mother, said the foundation would like to take Keeping Safe to other regional areas in the future, but as a not-for-profit organisation, it relies heavily on grants. 

However, businesses can offer their support by sponsoring one or more schools. 

“If local businesses want to get involved, they can say ‘I want to sponsor Bathurst High to get that program’, and they can sponsor a school,” Mrs Vassallo said. 

“We really want to get some more businesses on board.” 

She said road safety education, wherever it comes from, can make the difference in a young driver’s attitude that may save their life. 

“The younger we start [delivering education] the better it is, and the more programs they do, the better it is,” she said. 

Each road safety program is different.

In Keeping Safe, it is all about targeting the attitudes of drivers and passengers.

The project leader will tell students about Blue Datto and why it was formed before students are split into workshop groups.

The groups are led through discussions by peer mentors, usually university students aged between 18 and 25, about different road issues. 

Students take part in role plays and are given tips on what they can do as a passenger to stop a dangerous situation. 

At the end of the program, the students are asked to write a pledge, which is then emailed out to them every year on their birthday for five years. 

“That is a pretty powerful thing that we do,” Mrs Vassallo said.

Businesses that want to help schools participate in the program are encouraged to call Blue Datto on (02) 8999 8005. 

“We don’t want to have any schools disadvantaged, because we find the ones that can’t afford it tend to be the ones that really need it,” Mrs Vassallo said. 

To find out more about the foundation, visit www.bluedatto.org.au, or follow Blue Datto on Facebook.