RALEIGH – The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program is reminding drivers to follow the speed limit as part of ‘Operation Crash Reduction’ from Oct. 9-15.

The annual campaign enforces safe driving during one of the deadliest months of the year for fatal vehicle crashes. Motorists may notice increased law enforcement efforts to crack down on speeding motorists and bring awareness to unsafe speeds in communities statewide next week, including radar operations and speed display signs.

“Ensuring the safety of all drivers is our highest priority,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “We are urging everyone to slow down and obey the posted roadway signs. The choices you make behind the wheel can help save lives.”

The campaign is part of a greater effort led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to target speed, distraction and impairment in North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington D.C. This area of the country is prone to the nation’s highest number of traffic crash fatalities during the early fall.

An increased number of North Carolina drivers take to the roads for seasonal-related activities in October. The high-trafficked period is a popular time for festivals, football games and fall foliage. Statistics show that October is the deadliest month to be on the road. Each October from 2017-2021 North Carolina has experienced an average of 148 fatalities, more on average than the second most deadly month, November.

Twenty-nine percent of the 12,330 people who died in motor vehicle crashes nationwide in 2021 were related to speeding.

“Speeding accounts for nearly one-third of all fatalities on our roads and puts everyone at risk,” said NHTSA’s Acting Administrator Ann Carlson. “Speed limits aren’t a suggestion; they are the law.”

For more information and statistics on speeding in North Carolina, visit Speed a Little. Lose a Lot. 

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.