Sheriffs in New York state are promoting a new tool they say will make traffic stops easier for neurodivergent drivers.
The Blue Envelope Program encourages drivers with autism to store their license, registration, and insurance card in a marked envelope that can then be given to law enforcement officers as needed.
Speaking in Albany Thursday, Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond, president of the New York State Sheriffs' Association, says the program is meant to streamline interactions for both drivers and police.
“There's special concerns with those individuals. You know, the bright flashing lights, the sirens, sudden sounds, they can create stressful situations for people with autism, it's also a stressful situation for the police officer that's making that traffic stop,” DuMond said.
DuMond says the program that has been adopted by several states should be utilized by departments across New York.
“All the person has to do is contact a local sheriff's office or the New York State Sheriffs’ Association. We'll provide them with the envelopes. We'll send them if we have to. I'll hand deliver them if need be. Let's get the message out and make the situation of traffic stops safer for everyone involved,” DuMond said.
The blue envelope initiative is similar to the Sheriffs' Association's Yellow Dot Program, where those with certain medical conditions can display a yellow sticker on their vehicle, or provide a card with details about their condition to an officer.
Albany County is one of the first in New York to adopt the blue envelope program.
Sheriff Craig Apple says his office has been teaching drivers on the spectrum how to handle getting pulled over.
“We would go out to our station and actually stop them, and they would get used to having the lights on behind them, maybe a flip of the air horn, or a flash of the siren or something to that effect. And then when the officer comes up, or if the officer asks you to step out of the car, some folks don't like to be touched. And then, of course, we had the airport where we would bring them down and show them how to go through TSA,” Apple said.
Apple says while the program is intended to alert a responding officer to a driver’s needs, it could also be used in a more general way to alert the officer about any disability.
“We're going to recognize it as somebody that's on the spectrum, may have autism, but if you also want to take this and write something else on this to give us the head’s up, I'm sure that every officer would understand that,” Apple said.
Kristin Christodulu, a professor of clinical psychology at the University at Albany and director of the Center for Autism, welcomes the program in the Capital Region.
“We look at the Blue Envelope program as a way to ease communication, ease interactions, improve safety for both a driver with autism, [and] also a law enforcement agency,” Christodulu said.
Lisa Audi is the founder of Bring on the Spectrum, a sensory gym in Albany. A Type 1 diabetic, Audi is the mother of a 14-year-old girl who has autism. Audi applauds the Blue Envelope Program's expansion to New York.
“As a driver, you want the first responders to know everything that they need to know that might not be visible. And so the yellow dot , as an example, would let somebody know that there's a medical condition, and they would know to look for my insulin pump and know that perhaps that is why I'm in the situation that I'm in. So the blue envelope, pretty much does the same,” Audi said.
Sheriff DuMond says any organization interested in participating in the program can contact their local sheriff's office or the New York State Sheriffs' Association.
“We'll provide them with the envelopes. We'll send them if we have to. I'll hand deliver them if need be. Let's get the message out and make the situation of traffic stops safer for everyone involved,” DuMond said.
For WAMC News in Albany, I’m Alexander Babbie.
