South Carolina is joining four other Southeastern states this week for "Operation Southern Slowdown" to help crack down on speeding.
Law enforcement from Georgia and South Carolina held joint press conferences on Monday to announce the campaign, which will run to Sunday, July 20.
The three other participating states are Alabama, Florida and Tennessee.
The state Department of Public Safety said officers will focus their enforcement on interstates and highways to try and reduce the number of motorists traveling at dangerous speeds above the legal speed limit.
There were 37,043 speed-related collisions in South Carolina last year, according to public safety.
That included 372 people who died as a result.
“This reckless decision behind the wheel is one of the top contributing factors for collisions in South Carolina. It is unnecessary, dangerous, and not worth the risk," said public safety Director Robert Woods. "Through a collective, united effort such as this, we are able to focus our resources with a strong goal of driving down the number of speed-related collisions and fatalities."
"Operation Southern Slowdown" began in 2017.
It now runs simultaneously with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s "Speeding Slows You Down" enforcement campaign.
That specific campaign helps raise national awareness about the dangers of speeding and promotes compliance with speed limits to enhance road safety.
Ahead of this week’s operation, the Department of Public Safety placed new speed trailers in road construction locations throughout the state that flash blue lights when excessive speed is detected.
The DPS said it plans to install 25 more speed trailers within S.C. Department of Transportation construction zones by the end of the month.
