The Georgia State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies
are ready to put the brakes on speeding during the third annual “Operation
Southern Shield” speed enforcement campaign that will take place in five
southeastern states from July 15 to 21.
Law enforcement officers in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and
Tennessee are joining forces on interstates and other major highways to target
drivers who endanger the safety of others on the road by driving at speeds that
are well above the legally posted limit.
“The mission for us is the same in our neighboring states and that is to save
lives on our roads by preventing traffic crashes,” Governor’s Office of Highway
Safety Director Allen Poole said. “Working together in ‘Operation
Southern Shield’ has saved lives and we want everyone who is traveling in the
southeast to know that if you are driving over the speed limit, you’re more
than likely going to get pulled over and handed a ticket.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding has
been a factor in nearly one-third of all traffic deaths in the United States
over the last two decades. In 2017, speeding killed 9,717 people, which was
about 26 percent of nationwide traffic fatalities that year.
Preliminary numbers from the Georgia Department of Transportation show there
were 268 speed-related fatalities statewide in 2018, which is an eight percent
increase from the 248 speeding fatalities the previous year.
State and local officers with 224 law enforcement agencies in Georgia wrote
more than 11,000 citations during last year’s Southern Shield and 75 percent of
the citations were issued for speeding. Officers wrote 8,435 speeding
citations, 3,070 seat belt citations, 624 distracted driving citations and took
566 suspected DUI drivers off the road in a seven-day period.
“Troopers across the state are preparing to heavily enforce the laws
regarding speeding and aggressive driving during Operation Southern Shield”,
said Colonel Mark W. McDonough, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of
Public Safety. “We always enjoy partnering with other law
enforcement agencies in an effort to make traveling on our roadways
safer. This partnership will focus on reducing speeds which will
ultimately reduce the number of traffic crashes.”
“The goal of Southern Shield is to not write a lot of tickets
but to show drivers how speeding drastically increases their chances of being
in a crash,” Poole said. “We are warning drivers now so those who do not
want to see blue lights in the rearview mirror will follow the speed
limit, wear their seat belt, and drive alert and sober."
Besides increasing the risk of being killed or seriously injured in a crash,
speeding also reduces the effectiveness of seat belts and other safety
equipment in your vehicle, which can lead to more severe injuries and increases
the stopping distance after the driver perceives a danger.
For more information, visit www.gahighwaysafety.org.
You can also follow GOHS at facebook.com/gahighwaysafety and at gohsgeorgia on
Twitter and Instagram.
Drivers: Slow down or get pulled over
“Operation Southern Shield” in effect July 15-21
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