Operation Southern Slow Down warns Georgia drivers to slow down or get a ticket

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The Operation Southern Slow Down campaign runs from July 15-21 in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It warns drivers to slow down or face a speeding ticket.

From Monday, July 15 to Sunday, July 21, Operation Southern Slow Down launched in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The weeklong speed awareness and enforcement campaign warns drivers to slow down or be prepared to get a speeding ticket. 

The campaign kicked off on Monday with news conferences from highway safety leaders and law enforcement in all five states, including a preview interview with Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety Law Enforcement Services Director Roger Hayes.

According to a GOHS press release on the campaign, state and local law enforcement officers in the five states "will spend the rest of the week conducting concentrated enforcement on interstates and major highways in their respective states."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports the following statistics:

• 12,151 people were killed in crashes involving speeding in the U.S. in 2022; speeding was a factor in 28% of total fatal crashes.
• The number of passenger vehicle occupants killed in speed-related crashes in Georgia increased by 56% over a five-year period from 262 in 2018 to 409 in 2022.
• Speeding was in a factor in about 30% of the crashes that killed passenger vehicle occupants in Georgia in 2022, compared to 20% in 2018.

“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,” he said.

The Operation Southern Slow Down campaign began in 2017 and runs at the same time as NHTSA’s Speeding Slows You Down campaign that runs through the end of July.

The campaign is designed to educate drivers on the dangers that speeding poses "to everyone traveling on our roads."

Over the course of both campaigns, drivers can expect to see more law enforcement on the road waiting to stop drivers for speed and give them tickets.

NHTSA offers the following safety reminders:

• Faster speeds require longer to stop a vehicle;
• The stopping distance quadruples every time a driver doubles their speed;
• Allow more stopping time for bigger vehicles when traveling downhill on wet or uneven pavement;
• Check speedometer when approaching a curve. Apply the brakes before the curve;
• Remember, children will usually drive in the manner they see adults. Set a good example by driving at the speed limit.

When traveling on the same road with speeding drivers:

• Give speeding drivers plenty of space;
• If speeding drivers are following too closely, allow them to pass;
• Stay out of the far-left lane unless it is passing another vehicle;
• Always wear a seat belt.

The GOHS is sending a message to Georgia drivers to drive the speed limit and buckle up every time you are behind the wheel.