Video from the mod's authors. It plays from YouTube when you press play.
Real Traffic Density
Traffic based on real-world traffic counts: busier motorways, quieter nights, smarter traffic lights and AI that occasionally breaks the speed limit.
- Author
- Cip & Erbkaiser
- Game version
- 1.61 1.60as listed by the author (see the official page)
- Players
- Needs
- Nothing extra, the base game is enough
- Clashes with
- RoadPulse use one unless the authors document a compatible combination or connector; changing load order alone may not resolve this
- Price
- Free
- Link checked
- 18 October 2026 (the download page opens; not a test of the mod)
Hear about more like this? We'll show new ones in Your week on My mods.
Does it work for you on ETS2 1.61?
Screenshots (3)
Stills from the video above. Click a picture to see it full size.
About this mod
Real Traffic Density sets how many AI vehicles appear using real-life traffic data, tuned to what the game can handle. Big cities and motorways get busy, small towns stay quiet, and night traffic drops off, except on motorways.
It also changes AI behaviour: drivers sometimes speed (by up to 35%, within each vehicle's own limit), emergency vehicles, motorcycles and sports cars get their own speeds, traffic lights run longer cycles on big roads, and AI can overtake on single solid lines on two-lane roads. It's free and works with the base map and all map DLCs.
Features
- Spawn rates based on real-world traffic charts
- Fewer spawns at merges to reduce traffic jams
- Longer signal cycles on large roads, shorter on small ones
- Less traffic at night, except on motorways
- Different densities for small and large cities
How to install Real Traffic Density
- Open the mod's Steam Workshop page (sign in to Steam if asked) and press Subscribe. Steam downloads it for you.
- Start Euro Truck Simulator 2. On the profile screen, open the Mod Manager.
- Find Real Traffic Density in the list and move it to Active mods, then press Confirm changes.
Load order: Put it above map mods and any other mods that change traffic density, including graphics mods. It's meant to sit above ProMods and MHA Pro Map.
Notes for this mod
- Leave the game's traffic density (
g_traffic) at 1. You can go lower, but not below 0.5. - With many traffic packs at high density the game can crash with "Failed to assign pool segment". The authors' fix is the Steam launch option
-mm_pool_size 16384(about half your RAM in MB).
Part of this mod set: Realism starter set. Each set has the whole load order worked out.
Helpful guides
Best ETS2 Realism Mods for 1.61: Sound, Physics, Traffic and WeatherSound, physics, traffic, weather and lights: what to install, what clashes, in what order
ETS2 Car Mods: How They Work and How to Avoid Bad DownloadsHow drivable cars work in ETS2, ripped models, fake sites and safe places to lookInstalling from Steam WorkshopSubscribing, switching the mod on, and removing it safelyLoad order explainedWhich mod wins when two change the same thingIf the game crashesHow to find the mod that causes it in a few restartsLink broken, or the mod has a newer version? Tell us and we'll check it.
