Parking and lane enforcement can and should be automated. The disabled status is linked to the license plate and driving on the wrong road with that status leads to an automatic fine. In the UK we already have automatic fines for speeding, jumping lights, stopping in a no stop zone, using a bus lane, not paying a toll. This is no different.
Fair, but infrastructure is notoriously hard to build in the US.
The US disabled status works different here too.
You're only given disability privileges while in a car with your own handicap placard in the window (it's assigned to a person)
I actually like this a lot better than a plate because it's trivial to know if someone in the car actually needs a spot or not, and discourages use of the car by friends/family that don't qualify for using the (often limited) access to handicap spots.
Also allows you to drive any car and still get the same privileges.
