"Now imagine this kind of algorithmic enforcement applied to traffic laws"
We already have this in the form of red light cameras which have been shown to cause rear-end accidents at traffic lights:
"There have been concerns that red light cameras scare drivers (who want to avoid a ticket) into more sudden stops, which may increase the risk of rear-end collisions."[1]
"the authors of the study found a statistically significant, but still smaller, reduction in angle and turning injury crashes by 15 percent, as well as 'a statistically significant increase of 22 percent in rear-end injury collisions."[2]
In short, there situations where the humans involved would all agree on what a "correct" driving response would be, but the presence of the algorithm (the camera, the ticket, the court, etc.) forces another action - and sometimes that action can be bewildering to other participants.
We already have this in the form of red light cameras which have been shown to cause rear-end accidents at traffic lights:
"There have been concerns that red light cameras scare drivers (who want to avoid a ticket) into more sudden stops, which may increase the risk of rear-end collisions."[1]
"the authors of the study found a statistically significant, but still smaller, reduction in angle and turning injury crashes by 15 percent, as well as 'a statistically significant increase of 22 percent in rear-end injury collisions."[2]
In short, there situations where the humans involved would all agree on what a "correct" driving response would be, but the presence of the algorithm (the camera, the ticket, the court, etc.) forces another action - and sometimes that action can be bewildering to other participants.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_light_camera
[2] http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/study-red-light-cameras-ineffec...