This week, Georgia will join Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee for the eighth annual "Operation Southern Slow Down" speed enforcement and education campaign. The campaign runs through Sunday, July 21.
The campaign, which kicked off Monday morning, will focus on speed limit enforcement on interstates and major highways. Organizers of the campaign remind the public of the dangers of speeding and how crash data shows faster speeds lead to more crashes on our roads.
According to NHTSA, 11,423 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in speeding-related crashes in the United States in 2022, which is a 25 percent increase from 2018. Speeding was a factor in one-third of traffic fatalities in the United States in 2022.
NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data shows that the number of speeding-related fatality crashes in the five NHTSA Region 4 states increased by 14 percent over a five-year period for 2018-2022.
According to FARS crash data, 1,610 passenger vehicle occupants died in speeding-related crashes in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee in 2022 compared to 1,410 passenger vehicle occupants killed in speeding-related crashes in the five southeastern states in 2018.
While most people believe speeding is only a problem on the interstate, federal crash data is showing an increase in speed related fatality crashes on non-interstate roads. According to FARS data, 91 percent of speed-related crashes in the five southeastern states in 2022 occurred on non-interstate highways compared to 2018 when 88 percent of speed-related crashes in the five southeastern states occurred on non-interstate highways.
In addition to the speed enforcement efforts, Troopers with the Georgia State Patrol will discuss the role speed plays in the crashes they investigate and offer driving safety tips.
