Analysis of two-lane lattice hydrodynamic model with consideration of drivers’ characteristics

• A new lattice hydrodynamic model for two-lane traffic system is proposed by considering drivers’ timid or aggressive characteristics.
• Theoretical analysis and computer simulation are carried out to reveal the influence of drivers’ characteristics on traffic stability.
• Aggressive drivers are much more prompt than timid drivers in stabilizing traffic flow.

A new lattice hydrodynamic model for two-lane traffic system is proposed with consideration of drivers’ timid or aggressive characteristics. The effect of drivers’ timid or aggressive characteristics on the stability of traffic flow is studied via linear analysis theory and nonlinear reductive perturbation method. The linear analysis results show that the stable region for aggressive drivers is much larger than that for timid drivers, which means that aggressive drivers are much more prompt than timid drivers in stabilizing traffic flow. Moreover, we derive the mKdV equation near the critical point and obtain its kink–antikink soliton solution to describe the feature of traffic jamming transition. The good agreement between numerical simulations and analytical results reveals that drivers’ characteristics have an important role in the stability of traffic flow and traffic jamming transition in two-lane traffic system.