Operation Southern Shield Is Underway to Crack Down on Speeders
Alabama is joining four other states for Operation Southern Shield. It’s an effort to crack down on speeders on interstates and major highways.
State troopers and local law enforcement agencies say they’ll be working extra hard from now through Sunday.
Troopers are joining forces with other law enforcement officers in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.
“Speed kills,” Alabama’s Secretary of Law Enforcement Hal Taylor said in a statement. “We are pleased to partner with our neighboring states and local law enforcement agencies in an effort to save lives.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding has been a factor in nearly one-third of all traffic deaths in the U.S. in the past 20 years. In 2017, speeding killed 9,717 people – approximately 26% of that year’s nationwide traffic fatalities. In 2018, approximately 346 individuals were killed in speed-related traffic crashes across Alabama.
State and local officers with 295 law enforcement agencies in Alabama issued more than 14,000 citations during this past year’s Southern Shield and 36 percent of the citations were issued for speeding. Citations for the 2018 traffic safety campaign included: 5,278 for speeding, 1,009 for no seat belts, 1,150 for driving while revoked/suspended and 1,056 for no insurance. In addition, Alabama law enforcement officers took 339 suspected DUI drivers off the road during that period.
— Information provided by ALEA
