A photo illustration shows the front and back of the envelopes used in Rhode Island’s new Blue Envelope program. (Collage of photos courtesy of Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles)
An initiative aimed at supporting drivers with autism is now officially available statewide, the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) reminded motorists in a news release Tuesday.
Drivers on the autism spectrum can now sign up for the Blue Envelope program, an extra form of identification intended to smooth interactions with police. The statewide program went into effect Jan. 1, following legislation introduced early in last year’s session and signed last June by Gov. Dan McKee.
“We welcome all opportunities to make Rhode Island roads safer,” Walter Craddock, DMV administrator, said in a statement. “The Blue Envelope program will ease communication between neurodivergent drivers and law enforcement. We encourage any affected Rhode Islander to get the envelope during their next appointment with us.”
Program participants will receive a blue envelope from the DMV that can hold their driver’s license, registration, and insurance and emergency contact information. Instructions printed on the envelope help guide drivers in their interactions with police officers during traffic stops. The envelope can be handed to officers, who have been trained in “best practices for engaging with neurodivergent individuals during traffic stops,” according to the DMV press release.
There’s not yet any data on the number of people who have signed up, said Paul Grimaldi, a spokesperson for the DMV’s parent agency, the Department of Revenue, in an email Wednesday. Grimaldi also stressed that residents can ask for the envelope during any scheduled license or registration appointment, and don’t need to sign up in advance.
The DMV collaborated with the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association and the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities to create the program.
Sen. Victoria Gu, a Westerly Democrat who sponsored the legislation on the Senate side, said in a statement Tuesday, “Traffic stops are stressful for a lot of people and people on the autism spectrum may not respond to a police officer the way that officer might expect. This Blue Envelope program builds on those in use in Connecticut and New Jersey.”
Before the statewide legislation, Central Falls Police were the first law enforcement officers in Rhode Island to introduce such a program, in March 2024. Cranston introduced the blue envelopes in June 2024, and Narragansett did in November 2024.
In the Rhode Island House of Representatives, Rep. Samuel Azzinaro, also a Westerly Democrat, was lead sponsor on the bipartisan bill. The legislation included one Republican, Cranston Rep. Barabra Ann Fenton-Fung. That makes it one of the last pieces of successful legislation Fenton-Fung co-sponsored before leaving her House seat for Cranston’s mayoral race last year.
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