Speeding crackdown targets fast drivers on interstates, highways and local roads

Speeding-related fatal crashes nearly doubled from 2012 to 2015 in Georgia.

On Monday, law enforcement officers in the Peach State and across its borders began cracking down on speeders.

Operation Southern Shield is a week-long initiative that will focus on citing speeding drivers in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Harris Blackwood, director of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles per hour or more increases the risk of being in a crash.

“When you cash a check for $50 at the bank, they don’t give you $60,” Blackwood stated in a news release.

Last year, 1,561 people died in Georgia traffic crashes, which was the second consecutive year traffic deaths increased after a nine-year decline.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports speed was a factor in 27 percent of fatal crashes in 2015 that killed 9,553 people on the country’s highways and rural roads.

Col. Mark McDonough, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said the statistics show why Operation Southern Shield is a “worthwhile endeavor.”

“Our objective over the next week is to make the public aware and to encourage them to slow down and drive safely,” McDonough stated in the news release.

In Georgia, 16 regional traffic enforcement networks will combine efforts with colleagues across the borders to enforce speed limits.

Blackwood said publicizing the operation will give drivers the chance to comply with posted speed limits.

“Drivers who follow the law will have nothing to worry about,” he said. “But those who keep their foot on the accelerator run the risk of getting a ticket.”

This story was originally published July 17, 2017 at 7:17 AM with the headline "Speeding crackdown targets fast drivers on interstates, highways and local roads."