Traffic

Traffic
	; Screenshot from Mario Kart World
First appearance	Mario Kart 64 (1996)
Latest appearance	Mario Kart World (2025)
Variants
	Bob-omb Car; Bus; Car (obstacle); Cargo truck; Dash panel ramp truck; Mushroom car; Pickup truck; Wiggler Wagon

Traffic,^[1]^[2] also referred to generally as vehicles,^[3] appears as a type of obstacle in the Mario Kart series. Traffic consists of various types of vehicles that travel along roads on many courses. Traffic can consist of cars, cargo trucks, pickup trucks, buses, and other similar vehicles. Vehicles in traffic are usually neutral obstacles, but they can also consist of vehicles that attempt to spin out drivers or that provide benefits to them.

History[edit]

Mario Kart 64[edit]

Full version of the Toad's Turnpike promotional artwork used in Japan.

Promotional art of Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Wario driving through traffic in Toad's Turnpike

Traffic first appears in Mario Kart 64, on the course Toad's Turnpike, where all the vehicles in traffic drive in a single direction, alongside players in 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. Their speeds are also affected by the cc classes, going faster in larger classes. In Extra mode, the Mirror Mode of the game, vehicles instead drive against the players' directions, making them more difficult to avoid. Touching any vehicle launches players as if they are getting hit by a Red Shell, regardless of speed. While under the effects of a Super Star, the player can freely drive through traffic.

Six different types of vehicles can be found in the course: a white car, a yellow bus, three red cargo trucks carrying different loads, and a cyan tanker truck.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!![edit]

Promotional poster featuring racers avoiding traffic on Mushroom Bridge

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, traffic is found in two courses: Mushroom Bridge and Mushroom City. In Mushroom Bridge, traffic moves alongside players. In Mushroom City, the direction varies along the track: On the overpass, traffic moves against the players, while on the streets, it can move either against or alongside them, depending on the road. Despite this, all traffic still moves in one direction only. Traffic can be launched in the air by using the Super Star, Bob-omb, Bowser's Shell, Spiny Shell, or Chain Chomp items.

There are eight different types of regular vehicles: three cars, three box trucks, and two buses. Racers spin out when they strike them, similar to slipping on a Banana. Besides them, three special vehicles make their debut: the Mushroom car (which drops Mushrooms when players collide or when items hit them; they do not spin out players), Bomb-cars (which explode when players collide or are struck by other items such as Green Shells and Bowser Shells), and the Wiggler Wagon (which is invincible and, like Bowser Shells or Chain Chomps, knocks down racers, forces them to lose any held items, and briefly incapacitates the rear racer).

Mario Kart DS[edit]

Mario Kart DS features traffic on Shroom Ridge. It moves in two lanes, going both ways. The vehicles in this game are more realistically styled compared to the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! counterparts.

Six types of vehicles appear: three cars, two box trucks, and one bus.

Mario Kart Wii[edit]

Mario Kart Wii features traffic on Moonview Highway. In the highway section of the course, there are two lanes, with vehicles moving both ways. In the city section, both lanes split into two lanes each. Traffic moves three times slower in the highway section than it does in the city section of the course. Cars may be launched by the player under the effects of a Super Star, Bullet Bill or Mega Mushroom. Cargo trucks cannot be launched by a player under the effects of a Mega Mushroom. Instead, they will act as walls. Cargo trucks are still vulnerable to being launched by players under the effects of a Super Star or Bullet Bill.

There are three types of cars and three types of box trucks on the course, along with the return of Bomb-cars, now renamed Bob-omb Cars.

Mario Kart 7[edit]

Mario Kart 7 features traffic on Wuhu Loop. Unlike other courses, the traffic seen here is very light, with only a few vehicles moving in only one lane, alongside the player.

Three types of vehicles appear in the game: two cars and one three-wheeled pickup truck.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]

Mario Kart 8 features traffic on the returning classic course N64 Toad's Turnpike, where it moves both ways. Hitting vehicles in traffic at low speeds causes the player to be simply pushed around, while hitting them at a high speed causes the player to crash. While under the effects of a Super Star or Bullet Bill, players can launch vehicles in the air. The Super Horn and Spiny Shell can also launch them upwards, however, the Bob-omb no longer does so.

The course features one pickup truck with a surfboard, four buses with small ramps on top, six different cargo trucks, and a new dash panel ramp truck, which can be used to glide over the course.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe further adds the courses DS Shroom Ridge, Wii Moonview Highway, and Tour Berlin Byways in the Booster Course Pass, which feature traffic, both of which move in only one direction. Buses in these courses do not have ramps.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe introduces three new cars to the game, one of them being a taxi, along with the return of Bob-omb Cars.

Mario Kart Tour[edit]

Mario Kart Tour introduces Berlin Byways 3 and Berlin Byways R as courses featuring moving traffic. Traffic also returns in the classic courses GCN Mushroom Bridge, DS Shroom Ridge, and Wii Moonview Highway.

The vehicles which appear moving in this game are three regular cars and a pickup truck which carries a Piranha Plant in a pipe. Alongside them, Mushroom cars, Bob-omb Cars, and the Wiggler Wagon also return.

Mario Kart World[edit]

The role of traffic is significantly expanded in Mario Kart World. As the game's courses are all set within the same large open world, traffic can be found driving through almost every course and route connecting them. This applies to Free Roam, Grand Prix, and Knockout Tour, although, on the courses themselves, traffic is only found on Crown City. Depending on the road, traffic can flow one way (either against or alongside players) or both ways. Vehicles still cause drivers to spin out if hit at a high speed, but will now stop moving if drivers or course obstacles stop in front of them. This can cause long traffic jams to form.

Between model and color variations, there are 21 different types of cars in Mario Kart World, along with one RV, one bus, two ramp trucks, one cargo truck (which can have one or two trailers), and five pickup trucks with different objects on their bed. Another type of pickup truck can appear carrying various enemies, such as Piranha Plants or Spikes. Mushroom cars return, along with a new item-dispensing toy-like car. Ride trucks can be found driving alongside traffic, which can be hijacked by players to crash through most other obstacles.

Gallery[edit]

Mario Kart 64[edit]

Toad's Turnpike
Toad's Turnpike
Toad's Turnpike
Toad's Turnpike
Toad's Turnpike
Toad's Turnpike