A traffic ticket arrives looking like an administrative nuisance. Pay it, and the matter closes. That instinct is understandable and frequently costs more than defending the ticket would have.
Payment is a plea
Paying a fine is a plea of guilty. It resolves the immediate penalty and opens everything that follows from a conviction — points on the licence, an insurance response that can run for years, and where points accumulate, a licence problem that is far harder to undo than the original ticket was to contest.
The real cost is the tail
The fine is usually the smallest number involved. The insurance consequence typically outlasts it by some margin, and for anyone who drives for a living — or simply drives to work from a rural address without an alternative — a licence at risk is a different order of problem entirely.
When it is worth defending
Not always. Some tickets are genuinely best paid. The question worth asking before deciding is what this particular violation does to your record given what is already on it, and that is usually a short conversation rather than a long engagement.
General information about New York law, not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the facts of your situation.