Case Problem

CATAWBA VALLEY HIGHWAY PATROL

Broderick Crawford is the district commander for the Catawba Valley highway patrol district in
western Pennsylvania. He is attempting to assign highway patrol cars to different road
segments in his district. The primary function of the highway patrol force is to patrol roads
outside incorporated city and town limits in the district to deter traffic violators and accidents.
This objective is typically achieved by maintaining a visible presence letting motorists see patrol
units on a regular basis and giving out warnings, citations, and so forth. Secondary activities of
a patrol unit include providing assistance to motorists, answering distress calls, handling
emergencies and accidents when called to the scene, and occasionally apprehending criminals.
Commander Crawford has 23 patrol cars that he wants to assign to the following six major road
segment areas:
road segment 1, interstate north
road segment 2, urban area, north
road segment 3, four-lane highway, east
road segment 4, two-lane highway, west
road segment 5, interstate/four-lane highway, south
road segment 6, two-lane highway (heavy truck traffic), south
Each of these road segments includes the primary arteries, as indicated earlier, plus adjoining
roads. All the road segments have different levels of traffic density and accident rates, which are
key factors in determining how many patrol units to assign. However, these factors do not
always coincide. For example, interstate highway segments typically have high traffic density
but low accident rates, whereas some two-lane highways have low traffic density but high
accident rates. Differences often occur because of variations in road conditions (such as sharp
curves, visibility, and width). Other conditions, such as heavy truck traffic (as on segment 6),
also contribute to high accident rates.
Each segment requires different operating costs, including maintenance and repair, fuel, and so
on because of different operating conditions. The commander's most pressing objective is to
limit daily operating costs to $450. The daily operating costs per road segment are as follows:
Road Segment
1
2
3
4
5
6

Operating Cost ($)

20
18
22
24
17
19

The commander would like to reduce the accident rate for the district as well as increase both
physical and sight contacts, which are deterrents to potential traffic violators. The commander
would also like to achieve a reasonable average response time for a patrol unit to respond to a
call for each road segment.
The average accident rate reduction (per million miles traveled) and physical contacts and sight
contacts per car for each road segment are shown in the following table:
Patrol Unit
Physical Accident
Reduction (per million
Sight Contacts
Contacts
miles traveled)
(per day)
(per day)
Road Segment
1
0.27
18
1,700
2
0.21
26
900
3
0.28
10
650
4
0.19
34
230
5
0.23
25
1,600
6
0.33
17
520
The commander's second-most-important goal is to reduce the average accident rate for the
district by five accidents per million miles traveled. The commander's next goals (in order) are to
achieve 350 physical contacts and 30,000 sight contacts per day in the district.
If no patrol units are assigned in the district, the average time to respond to a distress call
anywhere in the district from the main district headquarters and motor pool is 28 minutes. Each
car assigned to a road segment reduces the overall average response time in the district by the
following amounts:
Reduction in
Average Response
Road Segment
Time (min.)
1
0.32
2
0.65
3
0.43
4
0.87
5
0.55
6
0.49
The commander's last objective is to achieve an average response time to distress calls of 15
minutes. Because of local and political pressure, the commander has to assign at least two
patrol units to each road segment. In addition, the commander believes that a maximum of five
patrol units is sufficient for any particular road segment.
Formulate and solve a goal programming model to determine the number of patrol units to
assign to each road segment to achieve the commander's goals.