  In this paper a cellular automata model for one-lane traffic flow is
presented. A new set of rules is proposed to better capture driver reactions to
traffic that are intended to preserve safety on the highway. As a result,
drivers behavior is derived from an analysis that determines the most
appropriate action for a vehicle based on the distance from the vehicle ahead
of it and the velocities of the two neighbor vehicles. The model preserves
simplicity of CA rules and at the same time makes the results closer to real
highway behavior. Simulation results exhibit the three states observed in real
traffic flow: Free-flow states, synchronized states, and stop-and-go states.

Statistical Mechanics