Someone posted a video to Facebook wondering why a MN State Patrol car was swerving back and fourth on 494. Now, we have an answer.
According to City Pages:
The video depicts a Minnesota State Patrol car with its lights on, but driving slowly. The state trooper proceeds to weave back and forth, from the right lane to the left, effectively slowing down all the cars behind him, most of whom fall back to a distance safely out of view of the camera.
After a couple minutes of this, as signs above indicate they're approaching MSP Airport, the trooper straightens out, just as inexplicably as he or she had started swerving. The patrol car's lights switch off, and it speeds back up; then it takes the next exit.
Lt. Tiffani Nielson, public information officer for the Minnesota State Patrol, tells City Pages what you're seeing here is "called 'the wiggle,'" and is a manuever specifically tailored to allow for the removal of debris up ahead.
"At freeway speeds, this is a much safer way to slow traffic," says Nielson, who adds that, according to a report from yesterday, the debris on 494 was a "piece of metal."
WARNING: Video contains NSFW language