Based on the pioneering work of Konishi et al. [Phys. Rev. E (1999) 60 4000], a new feedback control scheme is presented to suppress traffic jams based on the coupled map car-following model under the open boundary condition. The effect of the safe headway on the traffic system is considered. According to the control theory, the condition under which traffic jams can be suppressed is analyzed. The results are compared with the previous results concerning congestion control. The simulations show that the suppression performance of our scheme on traffic jams is better than those of the previous schemes, although all the schemes can suppress traffic jams. The simulation results are consistent with theoretical analyses.
