Effingham County Sheriffs join ‘Operation Southern Slow Down’ campaign

EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office announced their participation in the ninth annual ‘Operation Southern Slow Down’ campaign that begins Monday, July 13.

‘Operation Southern Slow Down’ is a speed enforcement and awareness campaign that runs from July 13-19 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.

“It’s hard to go tell a parent or a family member that their family member has been killed in a car wreck. We can prevent a lot of those. We receive at least 2.3 reckless calls every single day in Effingham County, and that’s speeding, reckless driving, or distracted driving,” said Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie.

More than 490 law enforcement agencies in the five southeastern states wrote more than 52,000 citations and warnings for speeding during the 2025 week-long “Operation Southern Slow Down” speed enforcement and awareness campaign, according to ECSO.

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.

WATCH: Speeding crackdown to hit Georgia, 4 other Southern states next week

“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,” said Allen Poole, Director of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 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 NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 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.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Region IV states offer the following tips for those traveling on the same road with speeding drivers:

· Give speeding drivers plenty of space

· If speeding drivers are following too closely, allow them to pass

· Stay out of the far-left lane unless it is passing another vehicle

· Always wear a seat belt