Florida Highway Patrol cracking down on speedy drivers this week

Highway speeders, no matter how little they go over the posted limit, are being targeted as Florida Highway Patrol troopers and transportation officials team up with federal and regional agencies in a weeklong speed-enforcement campaign.

“The speed limit is the speed limit,” Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Derrick Rahming said. “It’s not suggested. It is there for a reason. It’s there to keep you safe and to keep us safe as well.”

“Operation Southern Shield” is a joint law enforcement operation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration focused on high-speed corridors in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. In Florida, the targeted roads are Interstate 10, Interstate 75 and Interstate 95.

Rahming said the faster someone drives, the more catastrophic an accident becomes.

“We are going to be focusing on drivers who are failing to observe posted speed limits,” Rahming said. “We are going to make sure we stop them from speeding, to make sure the roads are safer during this season.”

The highest legal speed limit anywhere in Florida is 70 mph. Operation Southern Shield will run through Sunday.

Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault said in a statement that it’s his department’s “priority to bring attention to the dangers of speeding on our roadways.”

Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle data show the state had more than 10,590 crashes in 2018 involving speeding or driving too fast for conditions, with speeding deemed a contributing factor in more than 270 fatalities.