Earthquake model describes traffic jams caused by imperfect driving styles

The wide modeling potential of the classical spring-block type system is illustrated by an interdisciplinary application. A simple one-dimensional spring-block chain with asymmetric spring forces is used to model idealized single-lane highway traffic and the emergence of phantom traffic jams. Based on the stop-time statistics of one car in the row, a proper order parameter is defined. By extensive computer simulations the parameter space of the model is explored, analyzed and interpreted. Existence of free and congested flow phases is confirmed and the transition between them is analyzed.