A citation, traffic violation ticket or notice to appear is a type of summons prepared and served at the scene of the occurrence by a law enforcement official, compelling the appearance of a defendant before the local magistrate within a certain period of time to answer for a minor traffic infraction or misdemeanor or other summary offence. Failure to appear within the allotted period of time is a separate crime of failure to appear.
In Australia for minor traffic or some summary offences these are known as an Infringement Notice or a Fine and can be dealt with by paying a particular monetary amount depending on the offence. The accused person has the right to have the matter heard in a Court, if found not guilty the accused person pays nothing other than his legal costs (if any) but if found guilty the accused person faces the prospect of a conviction for the offence and/or a substantial increase in the fine up to the maximum. For example, proceeding through a red light could go from A$353 up to A$2,200 if convicted in NSW. Otherwise a Field Court Attendance Notice is issued for more serious offences.
Read more about this topic: Summons, Judicial Summons