A Hyperexponential-like Model for Car Waiting Times at a Left Turn Light Without Assumptions on Opposing Traffic
- Program: Applied Mathematics and Statistics
- Course: Other
Project Description:
Understanding the traffic flow at intersections can have a wide array of benefits, including optimizing signals for faster commutes. One particular scenario of interest is how to allow cars to make left turns at an intersection. One frequently used framework for this situation is allowing cars to yield to the opposing traffic and make the left turn once there is enough space to do so. We propose a model that only makes an assumption about the distribution of the time it takes cars to make the left turn and uses the realized time it takes a car to make the left turn as a proxy for the behavior of the opposing traffic to influence the leaving time for the next car. We show that this model has desirable asymptotic properties and examine through simulation the potential for the sum of car waiting times to be approximately normally distributed.
Project Photo:
Two cars at intersection. One is making a left turn.