Virginia drivers with autism have a new way to communicate with police when being pulled over. It’s called the Blue Envelope program and DMV staff was in the capitol to explain how it works.
Officially launched in July, drivers with autism can go into any Virginia DMV office and ask for a Blue Envelope.
“If you are involved in a traffic stop, you just pull out your envelope, hand it to your officer just so law enforcement knows that the individual may exhibit signs of high anxiety and other helpful tips," said Ava Adenauer with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The bill was one of a handful of mental health related efforts profiled at Thursday’s Virginia Disability Commission meeting.
DMV’s Law Enforcement arm helped train DMV folks and officers about the envelope. The goal is to provide a discrete way to signal communication needs, and it holds all important driving documents in one place.
“So, this will help facilitate a better opportunity for communication and also we’re hoping it builds trust in the autism community between law enforcement and the autism community,” said DMV’s chief of law enforcement Joseph Hill.
The program was the result of legislation patroned by Roanoke Delegate Sam Rasoul.
“Now, when an officer stops an individual with autism, they can hand them the envelope which has some special instructions and eliminates some of the frustration,” Rasoul told Radio IQ.
Rasoul said the law change emerged from a program called “You Write the Bill” which allows the public to craft legislation. He said the next meeting of that initiative is September 30th.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
