I am so confused about traffic offences and what 'spent' means..

Ok, so I have a bit of confusion about traffic offences. I know that you have to declare all traffic offences on the visa application. I did, even though I couldn't remember every single one I've ever had because I've been driving for 26 years. I did the best I could in remembering everything. I typed out a list of all of them (7 in all), including dates (some approximate) and details, as in, what the citations were for, and if they had been paid - which all of them were. I had thought that if you paid a fine for a citation this was considered 'spent'. However, I have been reading about this, and I am not sure that paying a fine renders a traffic offence spent.  This is the post I read that confused me:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=74835.0

Most of my citations are well older than 5 years, so am I correct in assuming they are spent? I'm having a hard time finding info on the web that relates driving offenses and how long it takes to for them to become spent.
I have one citation for running a red light in 2013. I was not pulled over by an officer, it was captured on a red light camera, and it didn't even go on my driving record. I paid the fine soon after, and that was that. Also, I was arrested back in '95 or '96 for an unpaid no insurance ticket, I paid the fines for everything and was released the same day. Will this impact my ability to get the FLR visa when the time comes? What about the ILR?

In my application I included the list of all traffic offences I had ever gotten, plus a copy of my driving record, which is clean. In Texas, any driving citations leave your record after 3 years, so there was nothing on it, except for an accident I was involved in which I did not receive any fault or citation. I have contacted the DMV and the other counties in which I received tickets, but was told that there was no information about anything older than 3 years. I did a criminal history check on myself and found nothing.

I stupidly failed to read up on all of this before I sent in my application, and I didn't include any kind of proof or documentation that I paid the fines for the citations. I have receipts for 4 of them and 2 of them I have no record because they happened so long ago. Now I'm worrying myself sick because I failed to put those documents in there, and I'm wondering how long this could delay my application. I had no idea this was such a big deal! Please tell me I am freaking out over nothing...
 

Fixed Penalty Notices (and their overseas equivalents) don't count as convictions. This means you don't need to worry about any ticket you received from the police where the sanction was a fine and/or points on your licence and where you paid the ticket/took the points/etc in a timely fashion. Caseworkers are specifically instructed to disregard FPNs that fall into this category.

There are two main exceptions. First, fines imposed by a court count as convictions, which take 5 years to become spent - and this timeframe applies even if you pay the fine immediately. If you receive a FPN as above, contest it in court and lose, this does theoretically become a conviction. Second, if you have received more than one FPN in the 12 months before applying for your visa, this can be taken into consideration by the caseworker, but you might still be OK if you disclose everything and provide an explanation.

There is nothing I have seen in the guidance to suggest that you must disclose an arrest that did not lead to a conviction.

Notwithstanding the comments above, it is still wise to disclose everything, but it sounds like in your case you should be fine.

Hope this helps.

Please tell me I am freaking out over nothing...

You are freaking out over nothing.   

Awesome, thanks so much for the info!
That definitely helps ease my mind. 

Basically any motor offences that didn't result in a criminal conviction - for example, simple speeding tickets - will not affect your application in the slightest. You should disclose them, but they can't refuse the application because of them.

In terms of more serious motor convictions, such as DUIs resulting in a fine, they are considered 'spent' after 5 years (i.e. they are essentially wiped from your record under the UK Rehabilitation of Offenders act). If they are spent, then then cannot affect your application anyway, but even if they aren't, as long as they did not happen within the last 12 months and didn't involve jail time, they cannot refuse your visa.