Statistical physics of traffic flow

The modelling of traffic flow using methods and models from physics has a long history. In recent years especially cellular automata models have allowed for large-scale simulations of large traffic networks faster than real time. On the other hand, these systems are interesting for physicists since they allow to observe genuine nonequilibrium effects. Here the current status of cellular automata models for traffic flow is reviewed with special emphasis on nonequilibrium effects (e,g. phase transitions) induced by on- and off-ramps. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.