Blue Envelope Bill aims to help drivers with autism and police during traffic stops
NORFOLK - Advocates for people with autism say a bill moving through the Massachusetts legislature would make the road safer for drivers with autism and law enforcement.
It proposes allowing drivers with autism to voluntarily show a blue envelope to police officers during a traffic stop or accident. The blue envelope, which would be administered by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, would inform officers of the diagnosis, impairments, triggers, and emergency contact information for drivers with autism.
Norfolk mother, Marie Zullo, and her son, Dominic, who is on the autism spectrum, are both advocates of the bill.
"The idea that he would have that envelope, that he could hand it to the officer and on it would be the information the officer needed to know an explanation of please do not speak to me loudly, please do not speak to me quickly - you know, any of those things. It just gives us a measure of comfort," Marie said.
Marie knows that 20-year-old Dominic can display emotional behaviors when he is under stress.
"He may do things like pull at his face or start to tap at his head, which may look like he is having some self-harm behavior which may turn into harm of another," she said.
Dominic was under stress when he was rear-ended on the highway a few years ago. Thankfully, he says a calm and compassionate state trooper came to his aid.
"The state trooper dealt with the situation very calmly and reassured me that I had done nothing wrong and, you know, helped me get through the situation," Dominic said.
A similar blue envelope program is already in effect in Connecticut.
The blue envelope bill has the support of some law enforcement in Massachusetts.
"You don't know who is driving the car until you actually walk up," said Salisbury Police Chief and President of the Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association Thomas Fowler. "The ability to just hand the officer an envelope that explains exactly who you're dealing with and how to communicate with that person is just so helpful."
The blue envelope bill passed favorably out of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Transportation in July.
