In the Netherlands, if you're caught cycling in the dark without bike lights, you will get a fine. But... why?

Maybe you forgot to turn them on. That can happen - everybody forgets things sometimes, and some of us (particularly those with ADHD, for example) forget things often.

But... why is that punished with a fine? It isn't going to make you un-forget, nor is it going to prevent you from forgetting in the future (since forgetting is an accidental thing). So it doesn't solve the problem.

Maybe you don't have lights on your bike. Okay, why? Perhaps you're poor, and couldn't afford them. Okay, so now you get a fine, which costs you even more, and you *still* don't have lights. This clearly doesn't help either.

Maybe you do have the money, but haven't gotten yourself to buy them yet, eg. because of executive dysfunction. So now you get fined for suffering from executive dysfunction. Which again doesn't solve the problem.

How does any of this make sense? Why wouldn't you just hand out a light to anyone who is missing one instead, which would *actually solve* two of the three causes (and serve as a reminder for the third one)?

Why would you fine people for this? By what logic is it justifiable to issue fines? (And yes, that is a rhetorical question.)