Warning for drivers after new laws with harsher penalties brought in - as one speeding motorist slapped with $1,000 fine
Samuel Coleman
Published Sep 12, 2026
WATCH your speed next time you hit the road as law enforcement across a number of states are cracking down on speeding.
The initiative, dubbed Operation Southern Slow Down, is a joint effort between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and multiple states.
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Between the week of July 17 and July 22, state law enforcement agencies, such as the department of transportation, highway patrol, and local police, will be conducting the speed enforcement campaign.
The goal of the campaign is to enforce speed limits as drivers head out for their summer travels to prevent further injuries.
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee are all participating in the southern United States.
In Florida, highway patrol will be focusing on drivers who are speeding above limits posted on interstates and highways.
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"Your FHP Troopers will be on patrol monitoring traffic for hazardous drivers and enforcing traffic laws along Florida's state highways in support of Operations Southern Slowdown," Florida Highway Patrol Director Colonel Gary L. Howze said, according to CBS News.
For the past 20 years across the country, speeding has been a factor in approximately one third of all motor vehicle fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In 2022, more than 13,296 car crashes in the state of Florida involved speeding or driving too fast in poor conditions, according to data from the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Speeding specifically was a reason behind 10.5 percent of all crash fatalities in Florida.
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During a news conference, Sergeant Steve Gaskins with Florida Highway Patrol revealed one motorist was fined last week for going 161 mph on Interstate 275.
"That's completely unacceptable," he said, according to WTSP.
"That's the kind of behavior that ends up causing crashes...[and] deaths."
The motorist reportedly faces a fine of over $1,000.
“We know that speed and aggressive driving continue to be challenges for law enforcement throughout the country," said Robert G. Woods IV, director of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS).
"In addition to our normal enforcement efforts, the SC Department of Public Safety announced Area-Coordinated Enforcement Teams (ACE) last July 4 weekend along with new striped, unmarked vehicles."
“We have seen promising results with these efforts in intercepting dangerous and deadly driving behaviors, especially due to speed. We are proud to stand alongside our Southeastern partners for 'Operation Southern Slow Down' as we work together to combat these deadly driving behaviors from border to border in the Southeast.”
The campaign was first launched in 2017, successfully decreasing traffic deaths across the five states by 2 percent from the week before to the week of the initiative from 2017 through 2020, according to the SCDPS.
Speed-related traffic deaths dropped 14 percent during the same time frame.
If you are running late for work or your next vacation destination, remember to drive safely and obey all posted traffic signs.
Avoid driving aggressively or too fast above the posted speed limit.
Amid the campaign, the NHTSA recommends drivers remember these safety tips:
- Necessary stopping distance quadruples every time a driver doubles speed
- Allow more stopping time for bigger vehicles, when traveling downhill, or on wet and uneven pavement
- Apple brakes before entering curves
- Drive the speed limit
- Allow speeding drivers to pass if following too closely
- Wear a seat belt always
