Operation Southern Slow Down kicks in Monday
The objective is to get you to slow down. It saves lives. So if you’re on local roads in any of the five southern states this week, expect to see more than the usual amount of flashing blue lights. And there is a way to avoid them flashing for you – slow down!
“Operation Southern Slow Down is rolling into town,” Social Circle Police Department shared on social media. “Right here in Social Circle (and across all of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee).”
From July 14 – 20, 2025 all local law enforcement agencies are teaming up with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for its annual mid-summer speed blitz – “and we’re not just slowing things down, we’re hitting the brakes on speeding,” SCPD warned.
This is the ninth year for the regional week-long speed enforcement and awareness campaign in the five southern states. The campaign kicks off Monday with news conferences involving highway safety leaders and law enforcement and state and local law enforcement officers will spend the remainder of the week targeting speeding and aggressive driving on interstates and major highways in the five states – as well as in local jurisdictions.
SCPD is warning, “if you’re racing down Alcova Drive like it’s the Daytona 500 or treating downtown like a drag strip, just know – blue lights will be in your future.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of people killed in speeding-related crashes in Georgia increased by almost 35% over a five-year period. In 2023, 349 people died in crashes involving at least one speeding driver in Georgia compared to 260 people killed in crashes involving at least one speeding driver in Georgia in 2019. Speeding was a factor in one out of five traffic deaths in Georgia from 2019 to 2023 – a 13% increase from 2019 when 1,418 people died in crashes involving speeding in these southeastern states. Speeding was a factor in one out of five persons killed in crashes in the southeast from 2019 through 2023.
“Speeding threatens the lives of everyone on the road and that is why Georgia and our neighbors are sending the message that illegal and dangerous driving behaviors will not be tolerated,” said Allen Poole, Director of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “The goal of ‘Operation Southern Slow Down’ is to not write tickets but for motorists to put safety first by choosing to drive at slower and safer speeds.”
In Georgia, state troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers handed out 12,544 citations and warnings during “Operation Southern Slow Down” in 2024. This included 8,900 citations and warnings for speeding. State and local law enforcement last year also arrested 446 people for driving under the influence and issued 1,231 citations and warnings for distracted driving during the seven-day campaign in Georgia.
The program began in 2017 to reduce crashes and save lives by reminding motorists of the danger speeding poses to all roadway users. The campaign now takes place during NHTSA’s Speeding Slows You Down” education and enforcement campaign that runs from July 7-31. Drivers can expect to se more law enforcement on the road during both campaigns. Drivers who are stopped for speeding can expect to get a ticket.
Some tips to avoid getting that traffic ticket:
- 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 passing another vehicle
- Always wear a seat belt
- No texting + driving
- Leave early
- Don’t drink and drive
- Obey ALL traffic laws
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