Actually there is proof the system wasn't perfect..
An example was provided where someone challenged two of her tickets. The judge reviewed the video and determined that the person had indeed come to a stop in both scenarios.The judge ruled in favor of the person, and dismissed the ticket.
Additionally, numerous tickets were thrown out at a significantly higher rate during traffic ticket spikes.
Most people are conditioned to not challenge automated tickets. The articled said 95% automatically paid. The remainder that challenged, 90% of them lost, until the traffic ticket spikes started occurring. In one instance, one location was challenged at a rate of 1 in 7 tickets for 242 challenges. 109 were thrown out.
At some point the courts will have reviewed enough footage at one location, that they just auto accepted.
And here-in lies the rub. Make the process tedious enough to challenge, and make the fine small and convenient to pay, and very few will question the accuracy of the system. "The incident was last week, and I was in a rush, did I come to a full stop? Forget it, pay the fine."
The problem is they changed something in the system, it triggered a volume where people realized the system can't be right.
As to the point of enforcement.
There are laws on the books that are meant for true good: Hey don't go killing people. Don't be stealing other people's stuff. Don't drink and drive.
There are laws on the books that are meant to guide people in safe conduct. Don't be speeding. Don't run red lights.
And there are byzantine laws on the books that when researched are for some obscure reason. No hanky panky on Tuesdays in the kitchen. Da heck?
Enforcement's job is to make sure the law is enforced, but to also exercise a level of reasonability in the enforcement of the law. So and so is speeding. Hey they are having a baby. We should help them. VS Hey, a-hole is doing 50 in a school zone. Bust 'em.
The reasonability measurement should have been occurring when the vendor and IBM were evaluating the infraction before sending it out. Somewhere along the lines, that fail safe wasn't being done.