Most ordinary traffic tickets are infractions, which means that you may pay a fine and related assessments but will not go to jail. If your ticket is classified as a misdemeanor, you may face more significant fines and possibly up to a year in jail. Traffic tickets that are classified as felonies are extremely rare. These may arise when a driver caused an accident that resulted in death or serious injury, or when a driver has a long list of previous offenses. A felony can result in imprisonment of more than one year, as well as even greater fines.