Pleading is your voluntary act and is one way that gives the Court personal jurisdiction.
A defendant in a traffic case must raise any defenses or objections based on defects in the institution (the start of the case); (were all your constitutional rights provided prior to, during and after as you were summoned to court) of the proceedings before the entry of a plea. Traf.R. 11(B). Accordingly, a defendant waives any objections to the trial court's exercise of personal jurisdiction by failing to assert such objections at the time the defendant appears in the trial court and enters a not guilty plea. State v. Savage (1977), 60 Ohio App.2d 394, 397 N.E.2d 1205; Cleveland v. Fitos, Cuyahoga App. No. 81404, 2003 Ohio 33, at P11.
In a traffic case you may request a continuances to consult with an attorney. The request, without more, are not sufficient to constitute a waiver of your objections to the trial court's exercise of personal jurisdiction over you. See State v. Jones (1991), 76 Ohio App.3d 604, 606, 602 N.E.2d 751 (finding waiver of personal jurisdiction where defendant requested continuance and signed an entry extending speedy-trial limits); cf. Toledo v. Williams (Jan. 18, 1991), Lucas App. No. L-89-340, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 162 (finding that defendant did not waive objections to trial court's personal jurisdiction when defendant did not enter a plea but scheduled a pretrial hearing).
If you are not personally served with the traffic ticket and do not waive your objections to the trial court's exercise of personal jurisdiction, the trial court cannot acquire personal jurisdiction over you. Accordingly, the trial court will need to dismiss the charge against you for lack of personal jurisdiction. See the following case; City of Columbus, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Fay Ford, Defendant-Appellee. 2004 Ohio 5715; 2004 Ohio App. LEXIS 5157 and State v. Cook, 2006 Ohio 1953 - Ohio: Court of Appeals, 4th Appellate Dist. 2006