How blue envelopes might help deescalate police interactions with autistic drivers

The Massachusetts Senate recently passed a bill that aims to improve interactions between police and autistic drivers. If the bill passes the House, it will allow drivers with autism to request a blue envelope from the state Registry of Motor Vehicles. 

A driver could then put their driver’s license, registration, and insurance in the blue envelope, which they would hang from their sun visor. If a police officer pulls the driver over, the officer would immediately see the blue envelope and be aware that the driver is autistic. This information could help the officer contextualize the driver’s behavior.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported on Marie Zullo’s testimony at a June Senate hearing. Zullo spoke about how her adult son, Dominic, who is on the autism spectrum, was pulled over after he was rear-ended on the highway. She told the Gazette how her son began to panic. 

 “He started to apologize for an accident that was not his fault. He paced towards the highway traffic, his voice getting louder as he became dysregulated,” she said. Zullo’s husband was in the car and was able to tell the police that Dominic had autism, Zullo said. 

Zullo’s husband played the role of intermediary between Dominic and the police. If an autistic driver is driving alone, the blue envelope can play the same role.

The bill was filed by Sen. Jo Comerford and co-sponsored by Rep. Kay Khan. The Arc of Massachusetts and Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts (AFAM) are two disability advocacy organizations that supported the bill’s passage.

Ilyse Levine-Kanji, an executive committee member of AFAM, described how uninformed police officers could misinterpret the behavior of autistic drivers.

“I have a 25-year-old son with autism named Sam, and he drives. He doesn’t have any physical characteristics that would alert someone that he has autism,” she told Boston.com. 

Sam could become upset and overwhelmed if pulled over, Levine-Kanji said. This might make the police think he is hiding something, she said. She also noted that Sam’s inconsistent eye contact might make the police suspect that he is guilty, and his unusual speech cadence could be mistaken for the speech of someone who is drunk or high.

“If Sam has a blue envelope, the officer would know immediately that Sam has autism,” she said. “With a blue envelope, it is much less likely for there to be a misunderstanding that could turn tragic.”

Two constituents brought the bill to life with the goal of creating a “quick, visual signal” for police, Comerford said. First, a mother reached out to the senator with concern about her young adult son. This mother saw a safer, more independent future for her son in Connecticut’s recent “blue envelope” bill, Comerford said.

 “She said, in no uncertain terms, ‘Jo, do this bill,’” Comerford recalled. “So we started to look at it.”

A year later, Comerford met Max Callahan at a UMass Amherst event. Callahan, a young adult with autism, wanted to drive, but was afraid a police officer would misinterpret his reaction to stress. Callahan told the senator he wanted to work with her on bringing the Connecticut “blue envelope” system to Massachusetts, Comerford said.

Callahan worked with Tyrone Parham, the chief of police at UMass Amherst, to tell other Western Massachusetts chiefs of police about the idea. The support from police was overwhelming, Comerford said. Some Massachusetts police departments, including in Deerfield, have already begun using the blue envelope system.

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