Having been pulled over a few times, and received a few mail tickets, the latter make a lot more sense.

When I get pulled over, there's always a bit of menace. I've had K-9s sniff around my car while the officer admires toys attached to it. In the US, there are swaths where any roads off the interstates are basically bandit territory if you have out-of-state plates and/or the wrong colored skin.

When I get a ticket in the mail, I can choose to pay or contest it with a level head. Often the mail tickets include links to a video, which can be hilarious if you register your vehicle to a family address.

But modern traffic stops are an embarrassing blight on the nation, especially considering our civil forfeiture laws. If you're in the US, pray that you get a state trooper.

I've been fined a few times. I eventually figured out that if you don't speed you don't get fines :)