Drivers who exceed the speed limit are warned to slow down or be prepared to get pulled over.

Operation Southern Shield begins Monday and is a weeklong speed prevention and enforcement initiative on interstates, major highways and local roads in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The regional effort is being made to reduce traffic deaths by getting motorists to obey posted speed limits, said Harris Blackwood, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

“Drivers who exceed the posted speed limit by 10 miles an hour or more increase their chances of being in a crash because the faster speeds reduce their reaction times and ability to stop suddenly,” Blackwood said.

In Georgia, the number of speeding-related fatalities has almost doubled from 2012-2015.

“By publicizing this operation now, we want drivers across the southeast to choose on their own to obey the speed limit,” Blackwood said. “Drivers who follow the law will have nothing to worry about, but those who keep their foot on the accelerator run the risk of getting a ticket.”