This page shows a shock wave recored on State Highway 99 near Sacramento,
CA. The animation on the left shows the disturbance in 1/10 real time, while
the animation on the right shows the same data at 4/10 real time. Most of
the action happens towards the bottom of the figures, so scroll down. The
total distance shown is approximately 250 m and the vehicles disappear after
they become untrackable. The left lane is a HOV lane, hence the free flow
traffic throughout the sequence. Note that as the stop wave reaches the
bottom that it "smears" over from the right lane to the middle
lane (because a driver from the on ramp wanted to reach the HOV lane).
= a vehicle that entered in the center lane
= a vehicle that entered in the right lane
= a vehicle that entered from the on-ramp
This sequence was reduced by hand from video, follow this link for a
sample frame: Hwy 99 test site
Return to Benn's main shock wave page
