I HIGHLY doubt they are looking for you to report traffic tickets as crimes. I know honesty is the best policy, but I think in this situation that's not what they're looking for, so if you answer yes, you're really going to hurt yourself. My cousin's wife works for a university and I know she reviews applications for acceptance for her department, so I just called her because I didn't want to give you any misinformation. She said that at the school she works for (it's a SUNY school in NY) they are not inerested in traffic tickets on that question as long as it wasn't a misdemeanor. She cautioned that with as competative as a lot of colleges are to get into, if you have one potentially negative thing, they'll just put you in the pass pile. Think about it like this, they have 20 spots to fill, they get 200 applications. In those 200, 50 are highly qualified to get in. They further scrutinize those applications, and have to find reasons to weed people out. Checking yes on that question would give them an easy reason to not accept you. Again, with my cousin's wife's information, I believe that you're not lying or hiding anything by saying no on that question. Like you said, they were civil infractions, unless you were charged with something like reckless driving that actually has a misdemeanor attached to it in a lot of jurisdictions, then it was just a civil infraction. If you just paid a fine, you're fine to check no and it won't be a lie in the least. I'm guessing that question doesn't have a line to explain your answer either, so for all they know, you could have been convicted of murder if you check yes! I really don't think a college is going to care if you've had a few speeding tickets or whatever, they just potentially don't want to have people at their school who may be a problem or not live up to their standards. My cousin's wife also said that sometimes one of the reasons why that question is asked is because if a school does accept a student who has been convicted any type of drug offense then their student aid can be affected (but it's not in all cases). This doesn't neccessarily apply to your case, but she also cautioned that if a juvenile committs a crime, they often think that a college can't see it because their record was sealed or expunged. However, she said a lot of states don't automatically just seal the cases, and if the college runs a check and they see that then they can take action.
I'm sorry to disagree with the last poster, but I think in this case too much information is a bad idea. Typically the way the application process goes is that you send in your application and that's it. They don't contact you to clarify your answer. They're also not going to run a criminal background check on potential applicants. That would be wildy expensive. If the OP checks yes, then he/she is likely to get a denial letter since they school doesn't know if he/she got a ticket or if they kidnapped someone.
Again to the OP...in the end if you really have any questions about this and you want to make sure you are following the rules to a T then call the school and ask. Also, I know for nursing school and law school they do require you to disclose tickets when you're getting your licensure, but not neccessarily when you are applying to get into the school. Your best bet is to call the school and see what exactly they are looking for, that way you are assured not to find yourself in a bad situaiton later.

