A traffic ticket is a citation commonly issued by a police officer to motorists who fail to obey traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, a moving violation, such as a speeding ticket, or a non-moving violation, such as a parking ticket. Traffic tickets are generally heard in traffic court.

Most traffic violations are civil infractions, but multiple prior offenses or egregious offenses can lead to criminal charges. Upon being ticketed, a motorist is given the option to mail in a plea of guilty or not guilty within a certain time frame.

If the motorist pleads not guilty, a trial date is set and the motorist with his attorney, and the ticketing officer, or a representative, are required to attend. If the officer or representative fails to attend, the court judge will often find in favor of the motorist and dismiss the charge; although, sometimes the trial date is moved to give the officer another chance to attend. If the motorist pleads guilty in traffic court, the motorist is generally fined a dollar amount. For moving violations, the motorist might also be given "points" demerits, under each state's point system, which is maintained in the Department of Motor Vehicles database.

For more information, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/traffic_violations