Pylons, witches’ hats, road cones, highway cones, safety cones, channelizing devices, construction cones, or simply cones are cone-shaped markings put on roads or pathways to temporarily divert traffic in a safe manner. They are frequently used to separate or combine lanes during road construction projects or car accidents; however, stronger, more permanent markings or signs are employed if the diversion is to be in place for an extended length of time.

Charles D. Scanlon, an American painter for the City of Los Angeles’ Street Painting Department, was unhappy with the conventional wooden tripods and barriers used to indicate roadways that were damaged or requiring repainting while working as a painter for the Street Painting Department. These wooden constructions, according to Scanlon, are readily damaged, difficult to notice, and a threat to passing cars. When struck by a glancing blow, Scanlon’s rubber cone was designed to return to its upright posture. His idea was given a patent in 1943.

When the M6 highway opened in 1958, traffic cones were first deployed in the United Kingdom. During the building of the Preston Bypass, these traffic cones were utilized to replace red lantern paraffin burners. David Morgan of Burford, Oxfordshire, UK, is thought to have built the first experimental plastic traffic cones in 1961, replacing pyramid-shaped wooden ones that had previously been used.

On May 1, 1959, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in Oakland, California, implemented a policy of putting orange safety cones at the left front and left rear corners of its service vehicles when parked on the roadway to improve visibility and safety for its employees. This regulation was adopted as a consequence of a proposal by their cable splicer, Russell Storch. For his proposal, he was given $45. This policy remains in effect today.

Despite its origins in concrete, today’s versions are more often fashioned of brightly colored thermoplastic or rubber cones. Modern traffic cones can be made from recycled PVC from bottles. Conical traffic cones are not all the same. Similar to movable bollards, pillar-shaped moveable bollards serve the same purpose.

Outdoors, traffic cones are generally employed for road maintenance or other situations that necessitate traffic redirection, prior notice of risks or dangers, or traffic prevention. Traffic cones may also be used to demarcate a play area or to block off an area. To improve visibility at night or in low-light circumstances, traffic cones are generally equipped with a retroreflective sleeve. For the same reason, traffic cones may be equipped with flashing lights on occasion.

The US Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) mandates that cones be equipped with reflective white bands to improve nighttime visibility. Reflective collars, which are white stripes made of white reflective plastic, fit snugly over cones and can be permanently attached to the cones using tape or glue.

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