Bradenton PD participating in Operation Southern Slow Down, July 17-22

July 14, 2023

The Bradenton Police Department joins law enforcement agencies in five states for Operation Southern Slow Down, a week-long speed enforcement awareness campaign from July 17-22. This campaign aims to save lives and prevent reckless driving and speeding in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. 

Operation Southern Slow Down focuses on the busy summertime travel period when injury and fatal crashes increase significantly. The high visibility enforcement and awareness campaign will work to reduce fatalities and severe injuries by having motorists obey speed limits. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), for more than two decades, speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities. In 2021, speeding was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities. 

In 2022 in the City of Bradenton, BPD officers issued 775 criminal traffic citations for offenses including driving under the influence and driving while license suspended. Officers wrote 2,057 non-criminal (moving) citations for infractions such as speeding and careless driving. Nearly 450 tickets for non-moving violations, such as failure to wear a seat belt, also were handed out.  

Operation Southern Slow Down was launched as Operation Southern Shield in 2017 and is a joint effort with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.