Archive for April, 2010
Traffic Barricades, Type 1 2 and 3
What are traffic barricades? A traffic barricade is a type 1, type 2, or type 3 barricade that obstructs or directs traffic in a certain direction. Type III or type 3 barricades have 3 panels going across the barricade horizontally, usually between 4 and 10 feet wide. A type II or type 2 barricade has 3 panels going across the barricade horizontally, and is only about 1-2 feet wide.
A type I or type 1 barricade looks similar in terms of width to the type II barricade, but it has 1 panel instead of 2 going across horizontally. Barricades can be made out of plastic, out of plywood, and parts can be made out of steel. Usually the panels are plywood or plastic and the upright poles that hold it up are steel.
Airport Windsocks
What exactly are airport windsocks? Well, they are those cone shaped flags that you see on tall poles near airports. What are their purpose? As far as I know, they are so that one can calculate the direction of the wind.
Most airport windsocks are just orange, but some are orange and white striped. There are even lighted windsocks, and you can get solar panels for them so the sun can charge them.
The Classic Traffic Cone
With the dozens of traffic safety devices now employed by construction crews and law enforcement officers, one classic piece of equipment is often overlooked: the safety cone. While safety cones have been used for decades during roadside work, they have largely been antiquated by more noticeable and safer alternatives. That being said, there are still several locations where traffic cones are put to good use.
Several families in my neighborhood use traffic cones to warn traffic when there are little children playing. These simple traffic supplies are also utilized in school parking lots and other areas where the flow of traffic is constantly in flux. And, of course, cones are still used on construction sites, although they are constantly being replaced by more advanced supplies.
Reflective Safety Vests
There are many different types of traffic safety vests, and they are used in many different locations. You can see them being used on the highway during a road construction project. You could see them at a building construction project, or on police officers directing traffic for an event.
What many may not know, is that there are different reflective grades of vests. That is, the more you want your vest to reflect light, the higher the grade of reflective material, and the higher the cost. Mesh vests are best when the weather is hot, and you need some room for your body to breathe in the heat.
Traffic Barriers – Meant to Protect?
Traffic barriers can be made of concrete or plastic, and the plastic ones are usually hollow on the inside so that they can be filled with sand and/or water. Keep in mind these can also be called ‘barrier barricades’. Now, my question is, how can a concrete barrier really be safe for a car to hit?
There are a lot of traffic barriers out there that are approved by all sorts of traffic safety standard, but how much do they ‘protect’ a car when you hit it? I would assume a concrete barrier is not as forgiving as a sand filled plastic one, but I could be wrong. Many of these barriers are supposed to be designed so that the cars ‘bounce back’…how safe is that?