The Georgia State Patrol and other local law enforcement are reminding drivers to "get the lead out of your feet" or risk getting a ticket next week when "Operation Southern Slow Down" returns for a ninth year.

The annual effort is a speed enforcement and awareness campaign that runs from July 13–19 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, according to a release from the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety. Operation Southern Slow Down aims to prevent crashes and potentially save lives by reminding drivers of the dangers of speeding and reckless driving during the summer travel season.

The campaign begins Monday with the highway safety office and state law enforcement agencies from the five participating states outlining the education and enforcement plans for 'Operation Southern Slow Down' at simultaneous news conferences in Augusta, Columbus, Ringgold and Savannah.

State and local law enforcement officers in the five states will spend the remainder of the week targeting speeding, aggressive driving and all traffic law violations on interstates and major highways.

More than 490 law enforcement agencies in the five states wrote more than 52,000 citations and warnings for speeding during the 2025 Operation Southern Slow Down campaign. The enforcement campaign also led to more than 1,440 DUI arrests, 2,234 reckless driving citations and warnings and more than 3,000 citations and warnings were issued for violating distracted driving laws.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show that almost 30% of the nation's traffic fatalities in 2024 involved speeding and nearly 40% of male drivers and 20% of female drivers ages 15-20 who were involved in fatal traffic crashes in the United States in 2024 were speeding.

According to the Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 21% of the fatal traffic crashes in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee in 2024 involved speeding. Speeding was a factor in 19% of fatal traffic crashes in the Southeast from 2020 to 2024.

"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."