Motorists traveling across Georgia and the Southeast next week can expect to see a much stronger law enforcement presence as the annual Operation Southern Slow Down campaign gets underway.

The week-long speed enforcement and public awareness campaign runs Monday, July 13, through Sunday, July 19, and includes coordinated efforts by law enforcement agencies in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The initiative is designed to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities by cracking down on speeding, aggressive driving, and other dangerous traffic violations during one of the busiest travel periods of the summer.

The campaign officially kicks off Monday with simultaneous news conferences in Augusta, Columbus, Ringgold, Savannah, and Florida, where highway safety officials and law enforcement leaders will outline enforcement plans for the week. Officers from state patrols, sheriff’s offices, and local police departments will then spend the remainder of the week conducting high-visibility enforcement on interstates, major highways, and other heavily traveled roadways.

The campaign has grown significantly since it began in 2017. Last year, more than 490 law enforcement agencies across the five participating states issued 52,990 speeding citations and warnings during the seven-day enforcement period. Officers also made more than 1,440 DUI arrests, issued more than 2,230 citations and warnings for reckless driving, and cited more than 3,000 drivers for distracted driving violations.

Georgia agencies accounted for a substantial share of those enforcement efforts. During the 2025 campaign, more than 230 Georgia law enforcement agencies made over 13,290 speeding contacts with motorists. Officers also arrested 501 impaired drivers, issued more than 1,875 warnings and citations for violations of Georgia’s Hands-Free Law, and cited or warned more than 2,470 motorists for failing to wear seat belts.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 30 percent of all traffic fatalities nationwide in 2024 involved speeding. Georgia crash statistics show speed was a contributing factor in one out of every five fatal crashes in the state between 2020 and 2024.

Officials say speeding doesn’t just endanger the driver who chooses to ignore the speed limit. A Georgia Traffic Safety Fact Sheet found that in 2023, 53 percent of those killed or seriously injured in multi-vehicle speed-related crashes were not the speeding driver. About 35 percent were occupants of another vehicle, 16 percent were passengers riding with the speeding driver, and 2 percent were pedestrians or bicyclists.

“Speed limits are in place to protect everyone traveling on our roads and highways, and enforcement of speeding and all traffic laws has proven to save lives in our region and nation,” said Allen Poole, Director of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “The goal for Operation Southern Slow Down is not to write tickets but to get more drivers to see that traveling at slower and safer speeds prevents families and friends from losing loved ones in crashes that are preventable.”

Highway safety officials are also reminding drivers that the increased patrols coincide with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Speeding Slows You Down” campaign, which runs through July 30.

Motorists are encouraged to obey posted speed limits, avoid distracted driving, buckle up, and never drive impaired. Drivers should also remember Georgia’s Move Over Law, which requires motorists to move over when safe to do so—or slow to at least 10 mph below the posted speed limit—when passing emergency vehicles stopped on the roadside with flashing lights activated.

Safety officials also recommend giving speeding drivers plenty of room, allowing tailgaters to pass when it is safe, staying out of the left lane except when passing, and making seat belt use a habit on every trip.