Most commonly, traffic tickets are negotiated out with a City Attorney or County Prosecutor. You will need some idea what can and cannot be negotiated in or out of your traffic matter. Experienced representation gives you the legal edge you may need to defend your traffic violation. That doesn't mean you can't represent yourself, but honestly, how much trust would you put in yourself when it comes to as task where you have zero experience.
The City Attorneys/Prosecutors handling traffic ticket prosecutions are, for the most part, dedicated professionals who are not given nearly the resources they need to do their jobs. In short, these mostly overworked professionals do not take well to the personal involvement that comes with someone representing themselves on a traffic ticket.
Attorneys themselves know that they will likely do better, if they have an attorney representing them. Many have told me of their own frustrations, trying to negotiate away their own traffic violations, in front of the same individual City Attorneys/Prosecutors, with whom they are able to negotiate routinely, on behalf of their clients.