Operation Southern Slow Down Starts July 17

State and local law enforcement officials in five states, including Georgia and South Carolina, are set to begin a week-long speed enforcement campaign starting Monday, July 17.

"Operation Southern Slow Down" will be underway in Alabama, Florida and Tennessee as well through Sunday, July 23 with officials warning that drivers need to slow down or find themselves with a speeding ticket.

There will be concentrated speed enforcement efforts underway through the campaign period on interstates and major highways in all five states.

"We are focused on where we are going when driving, but it is important to remember that everyone traveling on the road is also heading somewhere important to them and driving at slower speeds will help you and everyone safely reach their destination," said Allen Poole, Director of the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety.  "The data from the last two years has shown driving at higher speeds has been one of the factors in the increase in traffic deaths on our nation's highways and eliminating traffic deaths from illegal and dangerous driving behaviors is the number one goal in the "Operation Southern Slow Down" campaign."

"Operation Southern Slow Down" began in 2017 and now runs as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Speeding Slows You Down" awareness and enforcement campaign is underway through July 31.

According to the NHTSA, 12,330 people were killed in crashes involving speeding in the United States in 2021, which is a 28% increase from 9,592 persons killed in crashes involving speeding in the U.S. in 2019.  Speeding was a factor in 28% of total fatal accidents in the U.S. in 2021 compared to 26% in 2019.

Speed was a factor in 24% of the total fatal accidents in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida and Tennessee in 2021 compared to 2019 when speed was a factor in 22% of the total fatal crashes in these five states.