As Everett students settle into the new school year, City and state leaders are reminding everyone traveling through Everett to slow down, stay alert and help keep students safe.
The City of Everett, Everett Public Schools, AAA Northeast and MassDOT are partnering on the “School’s Open, Drive Carefully” initiative, which encourages extra caution around schools, crosswalks and residential neighborhoods as students return to walking, biking and taking public transportation to and from school.
The reminder is especially important in Everett, where preliminary data from the Massachusetts IMPACT Crash Data Portal shows traffic crashes increased from 319 in 2024 to 506 in 2025. Between 2020 and 2025, Everett also recorded 80 pedestrian crashes, 61 of which resulted in injuries. Twenty percent of pedestrians struck during that period were children, teens or young adults.
“As a City, we are constantly looking at our streets, intersections and the areas around our schools and asking where we can do better,” said Mayor Robert J. Van Campen. “The ‘School’s Open, Drive Carefully’ initiative is an important reminder for all of us to slow down, stay alert and do our part to make sure everyone gets home safely.”
“As we welcome students back to school, the ‘School’s Open, Drive Carefully’ initiative is a reminder that safety is a shared responsibility,” said Interim Secretary of Transportation and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng. “Under the Healey-Driscoll Administration, we have made investments in safe infrastructure, supporting safer roads and crossings and working with our communities to create transportation systems that protect our most vulnerable road users, especially our children. We urge every driver to slow down, stay alert and put safety first.”
“This school year, the RMV is reminding drivers to slow down and stay alert for school buses, and to watch for children in the roadway,” said Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie. “Drivers are required by law to stop when a school bus has its red lights flashing, and we ask that drivers use extra caution to help keep our students safe.”
“The Everett Police Department and our crossing guards, principals, faculty and parents do their part to make sure students get to and from school safely every day,” said Everett Public Schools Superintendent William D. Hart. “But we must also rely on drivers to be cautious, follow posted signs and obey speed limits. Safe conditions depend on safe drivers. We owe it to each other and, most of all, our students.”
“The switch from summer to school routines can be a major adjustment for everyone on the road,” said Mark Schieldrop, senior spokesperson for AAA Northeast. “Reducing speeds and taking extra care around school buses, pedestrians and cyclists takes extra time, but it could save a life.”
Drivers should expect more traffic during school arrival and dismissal times and allow extra time for their commute. The City and its partners are asking drivers to:
• Slow down and follow posted school-zone speed limits.
• Stay alert for students, crossing guards, bicyclists and e-bike and e-scooter riders.
• Put phones and other distractions away while driving.
• Stop for school buses as required and never attempt to pass a stopped bus.
• Check carefully for pedestrians and cyclists before turning or entering an intersection.
Pedestrians and cyclists should use designated crossings whenever possible, limit distractions and never assume a driver can see them before entering the roadway.