As of November 3, 2026, the best traffic mods for Euro Truck Simulator 2 1.61 are the Jazzycat packs, which add vehicles to the AI (the AI Traffic Pack, with 473 cars, and the Bus Traffic Pack, with 43 buses), and the ones that change how many vehicles spawn and how they drive: Real Traffic Density, Brutal Traffic and Smart Traffic. All of them are free and updated for 1.61. Below you’ll find 16 mods by type, with version and size, where they go in the Mod Manager and what they cost you in performance.
What kinds of traffic mods are there
Four: vehicle packs, which add new models; filters, which remove the stock SCS vehicles so the ones from your packs show up; density and behavior, which change how many vehicles appear and how they drive (enable only one); and liveries and country-specific traffic. None of them are drivable: they’re AI vehicles (if you want to drive a coach yourself, see buses in ETS2).
Game version: 1.61 and the 1.62 beta
The stable version is 1.61; 1.62 is in open beta. Jazzycat releases a version of his packs with every game patch (21.8.15 and 18.2.1 are the ones for 1.61), and so do Cipus, Kass and GMC. None of the mod pages in this guide confirm 1.62 yet: if you’re playing the beta (ETS2 1.62), wait for the author’s version and, if something breaks, run your log through the mod analyzer.
Summary: the best traffic mods for ETS2
| Mod | Type | Mod version (game) | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Traffic Pack by Jazzycat | Cars | 21.8.15 (1.61) | 726.77 MB |
| Bus Traffic Pack by Jazzycat | Buses | 18.2.1 (1.61) | 436.92 MB |
| Trailers and Cargo Pack by Jazzycat | Trailers and cargo | 11.10.6 (1.61) | 2.77 GB |
| Mr Larrington’s Traffic And Trailer Pack | Doubles and long combinations | 1.61.0 (1.61) | 38.8 MB |
| Emergency vehicles by Egon | Emergency | 1.3 (1.61 or later) | Not listed |
| AI Traffic No Default SCS Cars | Car filter | 1.3 (1.61) | Not listed |
| AI Traffic No Default SCS Trucks | Truck filter | 1.3 (1.61) | Not listed |
| Real Traffic Density | Density | 21-09-2026 (1.61) | 11.7 MB |
| Brutal Traffic | Density and behavior | 8.4 (1.61) | 158 KB |
| Smart Traffic | Density and behavior | 1.3 (1.61 and later) | 94 KB |
| Realistischer Autobahn-Verkehr | Density and behavior | 2.25 (1.61 and later) | 21.3 KB |
| OpenRoad: More Traffic | Vehicle limit | 03-10-2026 (1.61) | 20.5 KB |
| European liveries of traffic bus | Coach liveries | 2.6 (no version listed) | 9.5 MB |
| Parcel vans AI Traffic | Parcel delivery vans | 1.2 (1.61, according to the author) | 15.1 MB |
| GMC Community – Romanian Traffic Pack | Romanian traffic | 7.3 (1.61) | Not listed |
| IberFrío – International Traffic | Foreign license plates | 25-10-2026 (1.61) | 3.9 MB |
All of them are free; where there’s no version number, we list the date of the latest update.
Vehicle packs
AI Traffic Pack and Bus Traffic Pack by Jazzycat
The AI Traffic Pack adds 473 cars and vans, 17 car trailers and police from 11 countries. It works with any map and with the rest of the author’s packs, and weighs in at 726.77 MB. The Bus Traffic Pack adds 43 buses and coaches (Setra, Neoplan, Irizar, Ayats, Volvo, MAN…) with 1,332 liveries from real operators. Both are downloaded from Jazzycat’s account on ModLand.
Trailers in traffic
The Trailers and Cargo Pack is mostly a cargo pack, but it also puts 744 trailers into traffic; it’s almost 3 GB in three parts. Mr Larrington’s pack adds doubles, B-doubles, B-triples and HCT combinations. It’s modular (each add-on requires its DLC) and is downloaded from the SCS forum, with the file hosted on ShareMods: click only the download button. If you see trailers without wheels, set g_lod_factor_traffic 5 in config.cfg.
Liveries and emergency vehicles
Emergency vehicles by Egon adds 46 emergency vehicles from 20 countries, with active lights at road events; version 1.3 only works on 1.61 or later. Gelex’s pack paints trucks, trailers and coaches with liveries in hundreds of believable combinations, but it weighs 648.8 MB and its latest version is from May 2026 (1.59). The brands belong to their owners; neither the authors nor Holymod are affiliated with them.
Filters: make your packs show up
Vehicles from the packs share spawn slots with the SCS ones. Kass maintains mods that remove the stock vehicles: No Default SCS Cars, No Default SCS Trucks and No Default SCS Buses, in version 1.3 for 1.61. They don’t cost performance, according to the author, but without a pack behind them the road ends up empty.
Density and behavior
Real Traffic Density
Real Traffic Density (RTD), by Cipus, is based on real-world traffic statistics: rush-hour jams, quiet nights and AI that can exceed the speed limit by up to 35%. It works with ProMods and with the car packs, and was updated on September 21, 2026 for 1.61. It requires leaving g_traffic at 1 and adding the -mm_pool_size launch option in Steam with half your RAM in MB. If you use the Jazzycat packs, add Erbkaiser’s patch (confirmed on 1.61), which makes RTD treat motorcycles, classics and sports cars as what they are.
Brutal Traffic
Brutal Traffic, by Kass, reworks the behavior: believable traffic jams, AI that brakes and keeps its distance naturally, day and night density and reaction to rain. It doesn’t add vehicles, weighs 158 KB, and 8.4 is the version for 1.61. It requires g_traffic at 1, no other density mod, and the car packs placed below it.
Smart Traffic, Realistischer Autobahn-Verkehr and RoadPulse
Smart Traffic (1.3, 1.61 and later) adds rush hours, different cars per region and trucks in the right-hand lane; it works with ProMods and in Convoy if everyone enables it. Realistischer Autobahn-Verkehr (2.25, 1.61 and later) fills the highways with trucks and removes police, fire trucks and ambulances from traffic; its description is in German. RoadPulse adds queues at borders and toll booths, but its author doesn’t give a version number. All three need to go at the very top and be the only density mod.
OpenRoad and Realistic Drivers
OpenRoad: More Traffic raises the AI vehicle limit from 50 to 300 and leaves density up to you via g_traffic (the author suggests 3); single-player only. Realistic Drivers (81 KB) stops the AI from slamming on the brakes or merging right on top of you; it’s confirmed on 1.59 and the 1.60 beta and goes below any mods that change traffic_data.sii.
Country-specific traffic and license plates
For more Spanish-looking traffic, Johnny_Berm has the coach liveries (Alsa, Avanza, Monbus, Flixbus and more than fifteen companies, each in its own countries) and the parcel delivery vans (Correos, SEUR, MRW, NACEX or Yurtiçi Kargo in Turkey). The Spanish companies only appear with the Iberia DLC. The GMC Community packs for Romania and the United Kingdom (only there) are at 7.3 for 1.61. IberFrío – International Traffic (3.9 MB, for 1.61) puts foreign license plates on 80% of trucks; don’t mix it with other license plate mods. More in Spanish mods for ETS2.
Load order in the Mod Manager
Whatever is higher up takes priority. According to the authors, from top to bottom:
- A single density or behavior mod (RTD, Brutal Traffic, Smart Traffic…), above maps, graphics and packs.
- Erbkaiser’s patch, below RTD and above all the packs.
- Jazzycat packs, together, above the maps. Mr Larrington follows his readme, with RTD above; Gelex goes right below the density mod.
- Realistic Drivers, below any mods that change traffic_data.sii.
- Kass’s filters, wherever you like.
- Maps, at the bottom.
If the author asks for a different position, the author wins. More in the ETS2 mod load order.
Performance
The big packs make the game take longer to load (the AI Traffic Pack is around 727 MB; the Trailers and Cargo Pack, almost 3 GB). Density mods do cost FPS: RTD at rush hour, and RoadPulse and OpenRoad, which raise the vehicle limit to 150 and 300. Filters and liveries have no impact, according to their authors. All of them are in the ETS2 traffic category; each mod page links to the official download; Holymod doesn’t host files. If the game crashes, check why ETS2 mods aren’t working.
More Euro Truck Simulator 2 guides: ETS2 mod load order, realistic mods for ETS2, trailer mods for ETS2 and how to install mods in ETS2.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the best traffic mod for ETS2?
For more vehicles, the Jazzycat packs; for traffic that moves like the real thing, Real Traffic Density or Brutal Traffic. Most people combine both.
Can I use Real Traffic Density and Brutal Traffic at the same time?
No. Both change density and behavior, and Brutal Traffic requires that you don’t use another density mod.
What order do I put the Jazzycat packs in?
Together, above the maps and below the density mod. With RTD, Erbkaiser’s patch goes in between.
Why do I see so few new cars or buses?
Because they share spawn slots with the SCS vehicles. Enable Kass’s No Default SCS Cars or Buses filters.
Do traffic mods work on 1.62?
No mod page confirms it yet. Jazzycat, Cipus, Kass and GMC release a version with every patch: wait for theirs if you’re playing the beta.