No. If you do not go to court you will be put in jail.
Usually the options are listed on the back of the citation. Unless you have a must- appear citation, most can be handled entirely through the mail.
Anytime you have a traffic violation court appearance, that may not be valid, I would suggest you hire a traffic attorney.
If the driver wants to dispute the offense, the only option is to appear for court, plead not guilty, and proceed with trial. In traffic, certain offenses do not require a court appearance, and the defendant can simply mail in a fine to avoid a court date. The police officer does not determine which offenses permit the defendant to pay a fine instead of appearing.
Generally a warrant requires an appearance before a judge. If you contact the court to arrange an appearance, you may avoid arrest. Whether or not the court accepts payments is entirely up to the court.
Depending on the charge you can usually plead guilty and send in a fine.
Usually the traffic court will work with you if you make a personal appearance. It depends on your record and the violation.
Typically the court is delighted to have that done. Whether it will avoid court costs will depend on the specific jurisdiction.
Use that excuse during your court appearance and see if the judge believes you or not.
The debt is medical costs and is only a few hundred dollars, which I can easily pay and hope to avoid court appearance.
I don't know specifically about DC, but in most states, some traffic tickets require a court appearance. In my state, a traffic ticket for no insurance or speeding more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit require a court appearance. Others do to, I'm sure, but i can't recall them at the moment. Here in Tennessee, there is no difference in the tickets, but it indicates on the ticket "mandatory court appearance" next to some violations.
You don't...usually you have make an appearance in Court if you are attempting to plead not-guilty to a traffic violation. Once you plead not guilty then you will be scheduled for a trial. This will allow for you (defendant) to show proof the traffic citation was in error as a mistake of the issuing law enforcement officer. Be prepared to be cross examined by the Traffic Court judge, as it takes more time & energy to fight a citation than it does to pay the fine and/or traffic school. At least in California.
A North Carolina speeding ticket in excess of 15mph over the limit requires a court appearance since it is a suspension of your right to drive in North Carolina. You need to retain a North Carolina traffic attorney or either take care of the ticket on your own.