Real-Life Decision Making
There has been a terrible tragedy in your city. A three-car collision at an uncontrolled intersection has resulted in two people dying and three others being seriously injured. There is a huge public uproar demanding that traffic lights be installed at that intersection. People believe that the accident would not have happened if there had been lights.
You are a traffic engineer employed by the city government. Now, your employer asks you to investigate the intersection. They want you to recommend whether they should put up the traffic light.
You send out a crew to analyze the traffic patterns at that intersection. After a few days of data collecting, you have your report.
In North America, there are standard guidelines that stipulate when a traffic light is necessary and when it is not. You compare your data against the terms of the guidelines. You see that a traffic light is not recommended on that intersection.
You know that accidents can and do happen for numerous reasons unrelated to whether or not a traffic light is present. Putting a traffic light in a location where it is not needed is an unnecessary expense and an unnecessary waste of power.
It can slow traffic, frustrate motorists and even contribute to accidents if people get in the habit of ignoring the light due to typically slow traffic conditions. In this case, you can see that the data indicates that a light is not recommended.
You begin to prepare your report.
If you recommend that no light be added, the public will be very angry. They will write letters to the editor. The local television news will interview people complaining about the decision. Your office will get numerous phone calls from angry, emotional people. It will be a nightmare.
If you do recommend the traffic light, you will please the public. But you will know that your recommendation is likely to make driving conditions worse on that particular street. If word gets around that you have "caved in" to public pressure, your professional reputation will be damaged.
What do you do?