Examination of Roadblock Probabilities in
Need for Speed Undercover™
By: Johnathon Hein
Research Problem
As a frequenter of Need for Speed Undercover™, I have wondered where the optimal position
is to drive to minimize the possibility of running over a spike strip. I suspect that spike strips are more
often located on the left side of the road than on the right. To discover if I am right, I will be collecting
a very large sample on the occurrence of different types of roadblocks.
Study Description
An observational study will be done to compare the proportions of each type of road block
encountered. The study will be conducted using a Bugatti Veyron (Painted blue and upgraded with the
ultimate packages in all categories) driving only on the highway. Once there is a federal pursuit being
conducted by Porsche and/or SUV units, roadblocks of a specific type will be tallied for each time they
are encountered. If the driver runs over a spike belt and pops any number of tires, the game will be
restarted and the process will start all over again.
The types of roadblocks, as shown below are only differentiated by the presence of a spike
stripe, the relative location of the spike strip, and the number of cars that constitute the roadblock. The
types of the cars in the roadblock, for example Porsche or SUV, will be ignored. If a road block is
encountered that contains any number of civic units (appear white) as apposed to federal units (appear
black), that road block will not be tallied.
Types of Roadblocks
Type 1 (Left-oriented spike strip)
Type 2 (Right-oriented spike strip)
Type 3 (Left-oriented spike strip)
Type 4 (No spike strip and 2 cars)
Type 5 (No spike strip and 3 or more cars)
Type 6 (Center-oriented spike strip)
Observations/Data
Type of
Roadblock
Number of
Roadblocks
encountered
1
2
98
3
82
4
48
5
22
6
48
Spike strip (Types 1,2,3,6)
Number of Roadblocks
encountered
No spike strip (Types 4,5)
238
Left-oriented spike strip (Types 1,3)
Number of Roadblocks
encountered
10
146
Total Number of roadblocks encountered = 308
70
Right-oriented spike strip (Type 2)
82
Statistical Analysis
Determining whether a left-oriented road block is significantly more likely.
Ho: π = .5, where π is the proportion of road blocks with spike strips that are left-oriented
Ha: π > .5, where π is the proportion of road blocks with spike strips that are left-oriented
n = 146 + 82 = 228
T.C.
 SRS X
 nπ ≥ 10
 n(1-π) ≥ 10
p̂ = 146/228 = .640
228(.5) ≥ 10 X
228(.5) ≥ 10 X
1-Proportion Z-test
z = 4.239
p-value = .0000113
I reject the null hypothesis that left- and right-oriented spike strips are equally likely because the pvalue is extremely low at the significance level α = .05 . This study supports the conclusion that leftoriented spike strips are more common in Need for Speed Undercover™.
Conclusions in Context
This study provides significant evidence that left-oriented spike strip are more common.
Therefore, keeping your car on the right side of the road limits the chance of running over a spike strips
during a cop chase. It is interesting that the game would be programmed without this kind of variable
being completely random, especially since there seems to be no logical reason for the spike strips to be
one way or the other.