The Florida Department of Transportation is collaborating with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Florida Highway Patrol and transportation and safety agencies across Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee for Operation Southern Slow Down.
The annual campaign, now in its ninth year, is held every July and is designed to reduce speed-related crashes through a combination of increased enforcements and public education.
Drivers are being encouraged to slow down and follow all speed limits. Operation Southern Slow Down contributes to Florida’s overarching transportation safety initiative, Target Zero, which aims to reduce traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries down to zero.
“Unsafe driver behaviors like speeding are a major contributor to fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways,” FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue said in a news release. “Your actions behind the wheel can have life-altering impacts: Slow down and drive responsibly to help get everyone to their destinations safely.”
According to the 2024 Florida Traffic Crash Facts, speeding attributes to approximately 6% of all traffic fatalities. Allen Poole, director of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said that Operation Southern Slow Down is not about writing tickets, it’s about traveling at “slower and safer speeds to prevent families and friends from losing loved ones in crashes that are preventable.”
“Speeding is a conscious choice, and it’s one that costs lives,” FHP Col. Gary Howze said. “Operation Southern Slowdown brings Florida law enforcement and public safety partners across the Southeast United States together around a shared commitment to safer roads through increased enforcement, direct public outreach and a unified message that reckless driving will not be tolerated. This initiative ensures that those who choose to drive recklessly are held accountable for putting others at risk.”
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This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Operation Southern Slow Down targets speeders
Reporting by Lucia Viti, St. Augustine Record / St. Augustine Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lucia Viti, St. Augustine Record | USA TODAY Network
