Georgia to participate in Operation Southern Shield

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 15-21.  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, tells Roger Hayes, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Law Enforcement Services Director.  “Operation Southern Shield” is an initiative from Region 4 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that began three years ago. This is our third year. NHTSA saw an increase in speeding fatalities and speeding crashes in the southeast and decided we should have a week dedicated to speed awareness and speed enforcement. We have done that in the past two years in the third week in July and in the past two years we have seen a decrease in crashes related to speed during that week.”  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. Preliminary numbers from the Georgia Department of Transportation show there were 268 speed-related fatalities statewide in 2018, which is an 8% increase from the 248 speeding fatalities the previous year, continues Hayes. “If you are traveling 80 miles per hour on the interstate in a 70 mile per hour zone, your odds of being in a traffic crash with a fatality increase 71%.  I am not willing to put my family in a 71%. So, we hope the people traveling on the highways in the state of Georgia next week will do the same thing.” 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% of the citations were issued for speeding. Hayes gives the goal of Southern Shield. “Our goal for the week is to educate the public and to show them that if you will slow down, we can reduce traffic crashes on the highways and reduce fatalities. Just slowing down five to ten miles per hour.  It is that simple. So, all of our states have the same goal this week. We want to save lives on the highway. Our message to you is quite simple. Slow down, wear your seat belt, drive and gracious knows but down your telephone. Just lay your phone down and don’t drive distracted.” 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.