'Operation Southern Slow Down' Starts in Georgia

Slow down or expect to get a speeding ticket. That is the message from state and local law enforcement officers in five southeastern states where “Operation Southern Slow Down” is running this week.

This is the eighth year for the week-long speed awareness and enforcement campaign that runs from July 15-21 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The campaign kicked off Monday with news conferences involving highway safety leaders and law enforcement in all five states in Augusta, Columbus, Ringgold, Savannah, and Yulee, Fla.. State and local law enforcement officers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee will spend the rest of the week conducting concentrated enforcement on interstates and major highways in their respective states.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 12,151 people were killed in crashes involving speeding in the United States in 2022, which is a 28 percent increase from 9,592 persons killed in crashes involving speeding in the U.S. in 2019. Speeding was a factor in 28 percent of total fatal crashes in the U.S. in 2022 compared to 26 percent in 2019.

According to NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the number of passenger vehicle occupants killed in speed-related crashes in Georgia increased by 56 percent over a five-year period from 262 in 2018 to 409 in 2022. Speed was a factor in almost 30 percent of the crashes that killed passenger vehicle occupants in Georgia in 2022 compared to 20 percent of the crashes that killed passenger vehicle occupants in the state in 2018.

According to FARS, 1,610 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in crashes involving a speeding driver in the five southeastern states in 2022, which is a 14 percent increase from 2018 when 1,410 passenger vehicle occupants died in crashes involving speeding. Speed was a factor in 24 percent of the total fatal crashes in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee in 2022.

“Crash data shows speeding is a growing problem in our nation but team efforts like ‘Operation Southern Slow Down’ will help put the brakes on this dangerous behavior that threatens the safety of everyone traveling on our highways and roads,” said Allen Poole, Director of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. State troopers and local law enforcement officers enforce speed limits to save lives and drivers can help make sure they and everyone traveling on the road safely reach their destination by slowing down, buckling up and keeping their focus on the road at all times.”

“As more motorists travel during the summer, this joint effort with our partners in the Southeast will serve as a strong reminder to obey the speed limit and other traffic safety laws,” said Kenneth Boswell, Director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. “We all want to arrive at our destinations safely, and we support our law enforcement officers as they work hard to prevent injuries and deaths from automobile crashes.”