Example

Example 5.19 (Minimizing the Number of Encounters) Suppose that cars enter a one-way highway in accordance with a Poisson process with rate λ. The cars enter at point a and depart at point b (see Figure 5.2). Each car travels at a constant speed that is randomly determined, independently from car to car, from the distribution G. When a faster car encounters a slower one, it passes it with no time being lost. If your car enters the highway at time s and you are able to choose your speed, what speed minimizes the expected number of encounters you

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