Local law enforcement launches ‘Operation Southern Slow Down’

Georgia and Alabama join Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee for the ninth annual “Operation Southern Slow Down” speed enforcement and education campaign that runs from July 13-19.

Representatives from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and state law enforcement in Georgia and Alabama provided details of the week-long traffic enforcement and awareness campaign that will take place during the week on interstates and major highways in the Southeast.  The Georgia Department of Transportation notes the dangers speeding causes on our roads, especially for those who work to build and maintain the roads and highways we drive.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 11,288 speed-related traffic deaths in the United States in 2024, which accounted for almost 30% of the total traffic deaths in the nation that year.  In 2024, 39% of male drivers and 20% of female drivers in the 15-to-20-year-old age group involved in fatal crashes in the nation were speeding.

Federal crash data showed that one out of five traffic deaths in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee from 2020-to-2024 involved speeding.  State and local law enforcement officers in the five states issued more than 52,000 speeding citations and warnings during the 2025 ‘Operation Southern Slow Down’ campaign.