Relaxation and stability analysis of a third-order multiclass traffic flow model

Abstract: Traffic flow modeling spans a wide range of mathematical approaches, from microscopic descriptions of individual vehicle dynamics to macroscopic models based on aggregate quantities. A fundamental challenge in macroscopic modeling lies in the closure relations, particularly in the specification of a traffic hesitation function in second-order models like Aw-Rascle-Zhang. In this work, we propose a third-order hyperbolic traffic model in which the hesitation evolves as a driver-dependent dynamic quantity. Starting from a microscopic formulation, we relax the standard assumption by introducing an evolution law for the hesitation. This extension allows to incorporate hysteresis effects, modeling the fact that drivers respond differently when accelerating or decelerating, even under identical local traffic conditions. Furthermore, various relaxation terms are introduced. These allow us to establish relations to the Aw-Rascle-Zhang model and other traffic flow models.