My primary goal when designing this project was to determine if altruistic driving behaviors can reduce traffic in urban environments. I conducted observations to determine how inefficient left turns were at various types of intersections. I collected data on how many cars attempted to turn left, how long they took to turn, and how many cars got caught behind those turning cars. Normal stop-lights seemed to produce the most efficient left turns while still handling a reasonable amount of traffic. Extrapolating the data to the whole US economy, the impact of inefficient left turns proved to not be negligible. The experimental portion wherein drivers would be “planted” in an observed intersection in order to determine the benefits of altruistic drivers had to be cut due to Covid-19.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Wood, Stephen A.

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-051520-193043

Advisor

• Somasse, Gbetonmasse B.

Year

• 2020

Date created

• 2020-05-15

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Economic Science

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Last modified

• 2021-02-03