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Traffic Cone




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Traffic cones (also called road cones, safety cones, or pylons, or ''Witches Hats'' (now considered objectionable)) are Cone - shaped markers, generally made out of Plastic , that are placed on roads to temporarily redirect Automobile Traffic in a safe manner. They are easily movable. Various sizes are used common ones ranging from around 30cm to a little over 1m.

Traffic cones come in many different colors, with orange, yellow and red being the most common colors due to their Bright ness. They may also have a reflective strip to further increase their visibility. They may be used to create Merge Lane s during Road Construction projects or Automobile Accidents .

Not all traffic cones are conical, pillar shaped movable bollards fullfilling a similar function are often called by the same name.


HISTORY

Traffic cones were originally invented in 1914 by Charles P. Rudabaker . Though at first wrought from concrete, today's versions are more commonly brightly-colored plastic Cone s.


DESCRIPTIONS


Indoor Use

Cones are also frequently used in indoor public spaces to mark off areas which are closed to pedestrians, such as a Restroom being out of order; or to make note of a dangerous condition, such as a slippery floor. They can even be used on school playgrounds to delimit areas of a playing field. Some of the cones used for this purpose are minature, as small as 5cm tall.


Other Forms of Traffic Barriers

Cones are easy to move or remove. Where sturdier (and larger) markers are needed, construction sites use traffic barrels (plastic orange barrels with reflective stripes, normally about the same size as a 55 Gallon Drum ), which may be weighted with Sandbag s. When a lane closure must also be a physical barrier against cars accidentally crossing it, a ''' Jersey Barrier ''' is preferred.


THEFT

An increasing number of teenagers are participating in what is part of a growing national fad known colloquially as Coning . Coning involves stealing traffic cones from road work and road divertion sites for gang recreation. This happens typically in suburban areas, and on poorly lit and secluded back roads. While frowned upon by parents and legal authorities, it is also seen as a more benign alternative to the more malicious pastime of Mailboxing .

The theft and/or relocation of traffic cones has a long history, but it seems each generation assume they began the fad.


TRIVIA


  • In the "Notes" section of his collection '' Skeleton Crew '', author Stephen King describes an incident during his college days at the University Of Orono in 1970 where he accidentally ran over some cones, destroying his Muffler . An angry King decided to collect every traffic cone in Orono and dump them at the police station, and collected about 150 cones before being caught by Police . He was sent to trial and was found guilty of Grand Larceny , and was fined two-hundred and fifty Dollars (he paid the fine when a magazine publishing the short story '' The Raft '' sent him two-hundred and fifty in payments).



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