text: can a traffic ticket be discharged in chapter 7 bankruptcy?   actually, it can, but it must be more than 3 years old.    this is the exception to discharge in section 727 (a)(7) of the bankruptcy code:  "to the extent such debt is for a fine, penalty, or forfeiture payable to and for the benefit of a governmental unit, and is not compensation for actual pecuniary loss, other than a tax penalty—  (a) relating to a tax of a kind not specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection; or  (b) imposed with respect to a transaction or event that occurred before three years before the date of the filing of the petition;"