In-Game Traffic

In-Game Traffic are AI controlled non-playable vehicles that are part of the city's background. They are props and therefore can affect gameplay performance. The amount can be customized from heavy traffic to no traffic before players proceed to a race or Cruise.

The traffic vehicles appear in all game modes except Circuit races and Multiplayer. In Midtown Madness 1 and 2, these are in the form of low poly models which feature less textures and detail than the default player-driven vehicles. In Blitz and Checkpoint races, traffic serves as a moving obstacle which slow the player down or damage the car at worst. Much like pedestrians and cops, the amount of traffic can be changed in the race menu.

Overview
The traffic are technically NPCs (non-player characters), as they move on their own. They are part of the city's environmental background and their purpose is to affect gameplay performance. When the player has won a race, the ability to customize the amount of traffic for that race on the map during subsequent gameplay is unlocked. The cars flow with the movement of traffic (other vehicles) or stop at traffic lights. They have characteristics and aspects of real-life traffic (such as turn signals).

If they are crashed into by your car or another racer, they will usually stop dead and turn on emergency flashers. Additionally, they can beep loudly and a variety of driver/passenger sounds can be heard (which are usually insults aimed at the player or screams of panic).

Traffic generation only occurs in an area local to the player. For example, if opponents are too far away from the player during a race, they are unaffected by traffic.

Midtown Madness
Below is a list of the traffic vehicles in Midtown Madness:

Variants

 * Sedan
 * Coupe
 * Hatchback
 * Taxi
 * Minivan
 * Cargo Truck
 * Cargo Van
 * Minivan
 * Truck with Bed
 * City Bus
 * Limousine

Midtown Madness 2
Below is a list of the traffic vehicles in Midtown Madness 2:

San Francisco and London

 * va_compact_s - A small city car with rubber trim and steel wheels. Resembles the first-generation Geo Metro.
 * va_diesel_s - A large box truck with advertisements for companies like U-Move (a parody of U-Haul) and Andy's Furniture.
 * va_largesuv_s - A two-toned SUV with a different color roof from the body. It can also come single-colored. It resembles a Land Rover Range Rover.
 * va_sedan_s - A sedan with rubber trim and steel wheels.
 * va_smallsuv_s - An SUV with a sloped front fascia and a spare tire on the back. It resembles the Geo Tracker, with its top being shorter.

San Francisco Only

 * va_2siter_s - A two door sports car with wide headlamps, a small grille and a long rear. It resembles the BMW 8-Series coupe.
 * va_bus_f - A large silver six wheeled tour bus. Resembles an MCI 102 DL3.
 * va_eurovan_f - A boxy minivan. Unlike the first Midtown Madness version, it is a passenger van instead of a panel van. Shares resemblance with the Volkswagen Eurovan (Transporter in other countries).
 * va_limo_f - A stretch limousine.
 * va_taxi_f - A US taxi which comes in either orange or green. It has advertisements on its roof used to promote other classic Microsoft racing video games, like Monster Truck Madness, Monster Truck Madness 2 and Motocross Madness. In Midtown Madness 1, these came in yellow and green, with only the taxi sign on the roof. It resembles the second generation Volkswagen Jetta.
 * va_wedelivertruck_f - A delivery truck that resembles a generic step-up van.

London Only

 * va_2sitersport_l - Another two door sports car with a similar front fascia as va_euro_l.
 * va_cab_l - A low poly version of the default drivable London Cab.
 * va_cooper_l - A crude approximation of the Mini Cooper Classic.
 * va_ddbus_l - A double-decker bus with a modern design. It usually has the old Angel Studios logo, Midtown Madness 2, or Microsoft advertisements on the sides. It bears resemblance to the Volvo B7 TL.
 * va_euro_l - A round-shaped European hatchback with steel wheels.
 * va_eurocargo_l - A squarish European box van.
 * va_ultrasport_l - A wedge-shaped sports car.

New York City Only

 * va_2siter_s - A two door sports car with wide headlamps, a small grille and a long rear. It resembles the BMW 8-Series coupe.
 * va_bus_f - A large silver six wheeled tour bus. Resembles an MCI 102 DL3.
 * va_eurovan_f - A boxy minivan. Unlike the first Midtown Madness version, it is a passenger van instead of a panel van. Shares resemblance with the Volkswagen Eurovan (Transporter in other countries).
 * va_limo_f - A stretch limousine.
 * va_taxi_f - A US taxi which comes in either orange or green. It has advertisements on its roof used to promote other classic Microsoft racing video games, like Monster Truck Madness, Monster Truck Madness 2 and Motocross Madness. In Midtown Madness 1, these came in yellow and green, with only the taxi sign on the roof. It resembles the second generation Volkswagen Jetta.
 * va_wedelivertruck_f - A delivery truck that resembles a generic step-up van.

Chicago Only

 * va_2siter_s - A two door sports car with wide headlamps, a small grille and a long rear. It resembles the BMW 8-Series coupe.
 * va_bus_f - A large silver six wheeled tour bus. Resembles an MCI 102 DL3.
 * va_eurovan_f - A boxy minivan. Unlike the first Midtown Madness version, it is a passenger van instead of a panel van. Shares resemblance with the Volkswagen Eurovan (Transporter in other countries).
 * va_limo_f - A stretch limousine.
 * va_taxi_f - A US taxi which comes in either orange or green. It has advertisements on its roof used to promote other classic Microsoft racing video games, like Monster Truck Madness, Monster Truck Madness 2 and Motocross Madness. In Midtown Madness 1, these came in yellow and green, with only the taxi sign on the roof. It resembles the second generation Volkswagen Jetta.
 * va_wedelivertruck_f - A delivery truck that resembles a generic step-up van.

Unused

 * va_minivan_s - A minivan with a wedge shaped front. Its headlight and grille design are similar to va_2siter_s and va_ultrasport_l. Shares resemblance to the Dodge Caravan.
 * va_pickup_f - A two-tone color pickup truck originally seen in Midtown Madness 1, but it was cut from the sequel for unknown reasons, along with the minivan. It resembles the Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Tactics

 * Whenever the player's vehicle narrowly overtakes a traffic vehicle, it will swerve towards the same side as if pulled in by the player's vehicle.

Trivia

 * For unknown reasons, va_cab_l only appears in Blitz and Checkpoint races in London. With the release of MM2 Revisited V5 onwards, the car was added to cruise mode.
 * From MM2 Revisited V5 onwards, the mod also adds the unused va_minivan_s and va_pickup_f into the traffic of the default cities. The pickup appears exclusively in San Francisco and the Minivan appears in both of the default cities. It also tweaks the weight of traffic vehicles to make them heavier, posing more of a threat to the player.
 * Midtown Madness 1 had another sedan model with a slightly different design. This sedan doesn't appear in Midtown Madness 2 for unknown reasons.
 * The Euro Van was a redesign of the Minivan from Midtown Madness 1.

Sound Effects

 * -|Midtown Madness=
 * -|Midtown Madness 2=