We can start with the fact that fines are not means tested so a speeding ticket for someone driving x miles over the speed limit is the same for a Ferrari driver (likely a rich person) and someone who would having trouble covering a $400 expense (a poor person)...in fact it is known that this type of situation often has a cascading effect on poorer people...lose your license/registration because you can't pay the fine, lose your job because you can't get to work, become even poorer....

The real problem is that car ownership is more or less mandatory in America because of the lack of viable alternative in most cases.

Those fines I speak of? I have a lot experience with...in fact for most of my late teens and early 20s I spent thousands in fines for various infractions. Not everyone manages to climbed out of those holes.