The city's six speed cameras have already ticketed 900 drivers in the first two weeks of their existence. “Just two weeks in, DOT’s speed-camera program is putting motorists on notice that we will not tolerate dangerous driving on New York City streets,” DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg told the Post. The cameras are mounted around schools, and fine drivers $50 for driving 10 mph or more than the posted speed limit, which is usually 30 mph.

The cameras are a major prong of the mayor's plan to increase pedestrian safety. Currently, the city can only install a total of 20 without state legislation, which has been blocked by a group of Republican lawmakers and the police unions.

“They cannot do the job of a live, professionally trained police officer who, having stopped a speeder, may make an arrest for driving under the influence, driving without a license or insurance, or even worse offenses like carrying an illegal weapon," Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch told the paper. The NYPD traditionally hands out far fewer summonses for speeding than for offenses such as tinted windows or cell phone usage.

"We need many more," de Blasio said of the speed cameras. "Wherever data shows where they will make our streets safer. We have to protect our people."