The jamming transition in the stochastic cellular automation model (Nagel-Schreckenberg
model [J. Phys. (France) I 2, 2221 (1992)]) of highway traffic is analyzed in detail
by studying the relaxation time, a mapping to surface growth problems, and the investigation
of correlation functions. Three different classes of behavior can be distinguished
depending on the speed limit nu(max). For nu(max) = 1 the model is closely related
to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang class of surface growth. For 1 < nu(max) < infinity the
relaxation time has a well-defined peak at a density of cars rho somewhat lower than
the position of the maximum in the fundamental diagram: This density can be identified
with the jamming point. At the jamming point the properties of the correlations also
change significantly. In the nu(max) = infinity limit the model undergoes a first-order
transition at rho --> 0. It seems that in the relevant cases 1 < nu(max) < infinity
the jamming transition is under the influence of a second-order phase transition in
the deterministic model and a first-order transition for nu(max) = infinity.
