The problem is that one man's "shrug it off" is another man's "we can't afford to eat this month." And while you want to deter people, it's unfair to punish someone severely for an innocent mistake that doesn't hurt anybody.
There was a lot of reporting on this sort of thing in the St. Louis area following recent events in Ferguson. Poor people get ticketed for some minor violation. They can't afford the fine when it comes due. The fine snowballs with late fees and court costs, and soon they're facing jail time because they committed some minor infraction, like failing to signal a turn, that half the people on the road commit every day.
I think the proper answer is to adjust fines according to the person's income. It's ridiculous to me that a person making $200,000/year will pay the same fine for speeding as someone working minimum wage. Or, really, that the person working minimum wage will likely pay more, because the fees compound if you can't pay right away.
