Operation Southern Slowdown Underway in Five States

Motorists traveling through any one of five Southern states this week need to be extra aware of their speed.

Law enforcement in those states are taking part in Operation Southern Slowdown.

Local and State law enforcement in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Alabama will have extra patrols on the roads all this week through Sunday, July 24.

Alan Poole is the Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Poole said law enforcement agencies in the southeast have seen a significant increase in the number of cars traveling at speeds above 100 miles per hour in the last two years.

“We’ve seen triple digits of speeding on our roadways,” he said. “That’s why we’re here today. Enough is enough.”

Sgt. Camran Fleming is Commander of the Georgia State Patrol Hartwell Post. Fleming said his officers will be out in force across their post this week with a primary focus on the Interstate.

“Each day has certain designated areas. For example today we’re on all state routes, local, and Interstates. Then we’ll be on the Interstates on Thursday and Friday. So it’s kind of focused on the Interstates and the speeding on the Interstate with the multi-state operation,” he said.

Fleming said locally, they have also had an increase in speeding on roads and the Interstate over the past several years.

“If you look at the stats and the prior crashes in this area we’re at 620 crashes. Our fatalities are a little lower now. We’re at 11. I credit that to the number of troopers I have on the road now but we just need everybody to slow down, put the phone down, and don’t drink and drive,” he said.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports the number of people killed in speed-related crashes in those five southeastern states increased by 14% in 2020.

There were 1,611 persons killed in traffic crashes that involved speeding in these five states in 2020 and 1,418 persons killed in crashes involving speeding the prior year.

Officials say they are looking for drivers who are not wearing their seat belts, traveling above the speed limit and those who are driving distracted.

In 2010, Georgia enacted a Super Speeder law, which provides a $200 additional fine for any motorists caught going over 85 miles per hour on any road or highway and over 75 mph on any two-lane road or highway.

You can also lose up to 6 points on your driver’s license.