  Recently, hysteretic transitions to `synchronized traffic' with high values
of both density and traffic flow were observed on German freeways [B. S. Kerner
and H. Rehborn, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 4030 (1997)]. We propose a macroscopic
traffic model based on a gas-kinetic approach that can explain this phase
transition. The results suggest a general mechanism for the formation of
probably the most common form of congested traffic.
