PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Division of Motor Vehicles will update its driver’s manual in response to the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc.’s concerns that portions dismiss racial profiling and mislead drivers on their rights when encountering police.
In a letter sent to the DMV on March 1, Steven Brown, executive director of the state’s ACLU chapter, refers to “two particularly egregious provisions advised to drivers” in the the DMV driver’s manual, including a statement telling drivers to “avoid any assumptions that the stop was based on gender, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or ethnic origin.
“Wait for the officer’s explanation,” the manual continues. “All officers know that this type of traffic stop violates federal civil rights laws.”
A second provision of the manual instructs drivers to “teach (their) children to respect and speak to law enforcement officers when they meet them in the community.”
It continues, “Help them understand that police officers serve and protect everyone in the community. We must continue to pass on respect for professional law enforcement officers.”
In the ACLU letter, Brown writes that this language disregards “the lived experiences of many BIPOC community members, who may have experienced discriminatory treatment during traffic stops, such language comes across as condescending and dismissive of the apprehension that such individuals may legitimately experience during these incidents.”
Brown also highlights an advisory telling drivers to turn off their cell phones, noting, “motorists have a legal right to record their encounters with police, and it may sometimes be in their best interests to do so.”
Further manual instructions to “answer the officer’s questions” and “provide a straight, honest explanation” contradict a person’s constitutional right to remain silent, Brown continues.
The ACLU initially contacted the DMV about these concerns in July, Brown states in the letter, but did not receive a response prior to the follow-up at the beginning of the month. The ACLU still has not received direct correspondence from the division in response to its latest letter, Brown told PBN.
But the DMV has stated broadly that it will make changes to the manual.
DMV spokesperson Paul Grimaldi told PBN that the division “updates the driver’s manual periodically to reflect changes in laws/policies governing vehicular transportation,” and “the section questioned by the ACLU will be stricken.”
The division is currently in the process of revising the manual, Grimaldi said, and expects to update the document online by the end of the week. The DMV does not print physical copies of the manual.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
