Is there public transportation where you live? If not, then I feel sorry for her. Can insurances prices can be INSANE, especially on cars that are being bought on credit, which usually means full coverage is REQUIRED. If there is public transporation where you live and she can't afford car insurance, then I don't feel sorry for her at all. If she can't afford a car, then she should have one, unless she has no other way to get around to work and such.
I understand that the government wants to protect citizens from being hit by someone with no insurance and no way to pay for the damage they do, but I also think it's ridiculous that expensive car insurance is required when so many poor people can barely scrape together enough money to pay $150 a month for a used clunker to get themselves to work. The government wants people to work, work, work, then when people do, they end up going to jail because they can't afford everything it takes to have a job. (Car, insurance, child care, etc.) Especially in rural areas where the nearest place to work for many citizens is 2+ miles away and public transportation is not available and taxi service isn't always available or reliable. Just taxi service alone to and from daycare/work in some areas can cost $20-$30 a day... a fortune when you consider that some people barely make $50 a day (8 hours * $6 per hour = $48 a day BEFORE taxes). Figure in daycare for those that have children and there isn't even enough money to pay rent or buy food.
I know something has to be done to protect people from being hit by someone who cannot pay for the damage they do, but what? Perhaps government subsidized programs to help pay for car insurance for poor families? Some areas have programs that pay for public transporation to work for poor families, but what about places where no public transportation is available?
It seems like requiring insurance just makes life for poor families that much harder, then they end up driving without insurance, anyway, and ending up in jail. I think a parent in this day and age who actually works and supports their kids deserves better than that.
