Scan cars issue around 500.000 incorrect parking fines

Cars which digitally scan parked vehicles and use AI and algorithms to detect violations have issued 500.000 incorrect parking fines, according to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP). 10 percent of total parking tickets are wrongly issued.

High number of wrongful fines imposed on Dutch residents

Using data collected by Dutch municipalities, the AP calculated the number of supposed parking violations incorrectly registered by scanning cars used by Dutch parking services.

AP's figures state that scanning cars carry out 250 to 375 million scans per year, producing 3 to 5 million parking tickets. Out of those, 10 percent are incorrectly imposed on residents.

Those who contest the fine are given an exemption in 40 to 62 percent of the cases. 

The AP researches different ways algorithms are unfairly used in society in the Netherlands, for example, chatbots giving biased voting advice or in assessing job applications.

The downsides of scanning cars

While the scanning cars used by the municipalities are faster and cheaper than human parking officers, they make mistakes that disproportionately affect certain societal groups.

The cars take photos of parked vehicles' licence plates and use AI algorithms to determine whether a parking space has been paid for correctly. Images are then evaluated by human workers. According to the AP, the combination of human and artificial judgment has several shortcomings affecting the public.

The algorithms cannot recognise whether a vehicle is parked, or drivers have stopped to load or unload, causing halted vehicles to be fined as if they were illegally parked. People with a disability pass, who are exempt from parking fines, are also incorrectly receiving fines. If their exemption is not linked to their license plate in the municipality's database, the scanning car does not recognise it, and they are fined automatically.

Disproportionate effect on residents with low digital literacy

Fines are then largely delivered by email, and exemptions are usually requested through automated digital procedures that require a relatively high digital literacy. The process is time-consuming, opaque and difficult for those struggling with digital forms, says AP.

Physical reminders only arrive delayed, causing residents to unconsciously commit multiple violations and face accumulating fines. Elderly residents, for example, who are exempt from parking fees and struggle with digital procedures, are affected disproportionately.

According to AP, the municipalities do not take these minorities’ interests into consideration sufficiently. Additionally, AP warns that some municipalities do not investigate and limit the privacy risks that come with the snapshots. In a few cases, there has been insufficient regulation over commercial parties that handle residents' data.

A new solution to allow for both efficient and safe parking control is yet to be developed.