Speed freaks

Diplomatic pol that he is, Mayor de Blasio praised the state Legislature’s approval for another 120 speed cameras as a “powerful commitment to the safety of our children.”

To the contrary, what lawmakers grudgingly authorized is, at best, an incremental step in the right direction.

The cameras — which will automatically snap pictures of vehicles exceeding speed limits by at least 10 mph and generate $50 tickets for offenders — are a tried-and-true technology proven to slow traffic and save lives.

It is outrageous but oh-so-typical that New York City — which has a responsibility to keep streets as safe as possible for its 8.3 million citizens — is forced to beg at the state Capitol for the right to install them in the first place.

It is doubly infuriating that, when the Legislature finally deigns to dole out cameras, it restricts their use in counterproductive ways.

For one thing, the newly authorized cameras can go up only in school zones. For another, they can operate only during school hours — weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

That not only leaves out some of the busiest and most dangerous thoroughfares in the city, but excludes the nighttime and weekend hours when 77% of fatal accidents happen.

Plus, there are some 1,200 school buildings in the five boroughs. Albany’s green light for 120 new cameras, on top of the 20 already in place, denies the children of around 1,000 schools any added protection against speeders.

As if those strings weren’t bad enough, legislative leaders want to add one more: dedicating all revenue from speed-camera tickets to law enforcement purposes.

Earmarking of this kind rarely does any good. But it’s particularly stupid in this case, since it feeds the widespread and misplaced fear that speed cameras are a money-raising ploy.

In fact, experience shows that revenue tails off over time as speeders learn to slow down — which is exactly what everyone, Albany lawmakers included, should want.