A Guide to Selecting the Right Traffic Cone

Dec. 14, 2022

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Traffic cones and bollards have been around since 1914. Originally they were made out of concrete but eventually evolved into light weight markers made out of thermoplastics and high grade rubber compounds. The size, shape and color of traffic cone that you choose really depend on a number of factors and your personal preference. Listed below are some general options that are available and some things to consider when choosing the right cone for your needs:

Available sizes and associated uses

The most popular sizes of cones along with their common uses are as follows:

ㆍ12 inch cone (commonly used for little league football, soccer and other sports)

ㆍ18 inch cone (commonly used for sports and traffic, has optional reflective collar)

ㆍ28 inch cone (commonly used for traffic & road closure, optional reflective collar)

ㆍ36 inch cone (commonly used for traffic & road closure, optional reflective collar)

Using cones to close a road

It is important to remember that a cone must be a minimum of 28 inches in height if you are using it to close a road. Obviously, road closure requires a relatively large, highly visible marker to help motorists avoid making a dangerous mistake. 12 or 18 inch cones are insufficient for this purpose.

Night time use of cones

When using cones for road closure during night time hours you need to have two reflective collars on the cone. This reflective material is easily seen in the dark by motorists. Each of our cones can be adapted with reflective collars before they are shipped.

Two general types of manufactured cones

Generally you have a choice between two types of manufactured cones. One is called a flow molded cone which is all one color and provides the highest light reflection due to UV-stabilized brilliant colors over bright white layers. The other option is an injection molded cone with a black base. The base is made out of scrap PVC to create reliable, skid resistant material.

42 inch grabber cones

Grabber cones are large 42 inch cones that have handles on the top for easy pickup and deployment. Within the handle is a mounting hole to mount a barricade flasher. It comes with a recycled rubber base of variable sizes and weights. The base is simply placed over the top and lowered into place, to hold the cone down. Grabber cones stack upon each other very nicely even with the base installed which saves a lot of space.

Plastic Delineators

Plastic delineator tubes are not shaped like a traditional traffic cone. They are tube-shaped barriers that come with two types of handles. The looper tube has a loop at the top that is easy to get hold of. The second option is the grabber tube. It has a similar handle as the grabber cone which also makes it easy to get a firm grip.

The advantage to the looper tube is that you can easily run caution tape or plastic chain through the loop. It is important to understand that the tubes don't stack like cones. It is necessary to remove the base in order to stack them on their sides when storing or transporting large quantities of them.

In-Mold Stenciling

You can also get custom in-mold stenciling on the cones that can't be removed. This can provide extra safety and direction when they are used for traffic control. Samples of some of the common notices are as follows:

ㆍReserved

ㆍBus zone

ㆍNo parking

ㆍCompany logos

Traffic cone colors

Cones and barriers generally come in two colors, orange and fluorescent green. Although the color you choose is ultimately up to you, orange is most often used for construction, road closing and parking markers. Lime is generally used for fire, EMS and pedestrian crossing purposes. Based on what you will be using a cone or barrier for, one of the options mentioned above should take care of your needs in most instances.

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