Archive for April, 2010
Where are Traffic Drums Made?
When I tell people I deal with the traffic safety industry, at first they look in surprise because it is such a strange (or is it) industry to be in. I explain that I deal with pretty much any product you would see in a road/highway construction project on the side of the road. Their next question is usually where does it come from?
Well, to be honest I do not know exactly where everything is made. These days some products have different parts assembled at different factories all over the world, and the materials are even further spread around. Now, a traffic drum, for example, is most likely made in the US (the West Coast usually). I have discovered that anything big is usually made in the US for one reason – shipping cost is too high to get them from China.
Traffic Cone
Most people know what a traffic cone is, those orange cones on the side of the road usually involved in some sort of contruction. Or you may see them on the soccer field, as a drill to dribble between with the soccer ball (called sports cones). Traffic cones have a few different options, such as reflective tape.
You can get different grades of reflective tape, such as engineer grade, hi intensity or diamond grade. Traffic cones can come in different weights, because heavier cones may be needed to make sure they don’t blow over. A safety cone can come in different colors too, yellow, orange, blue, green etc.
Options on Traffic Barrels
There are many different options when you are choosing traffic barrels. For example, you can choose the density of the plastic on the drum for most brands, like high density or low density. Reflective tape is also an option (Engineer Grade, HI Intensity Grade, Diamond Grade).
Knowing what options to choose usually means checking the requirements of the job. Also, if the job is going to be on a highway, it may be good to check the state requirements. State requirements point out the correct base to use, the grade of reflective tape and possibly the density of the plastic on the traffic drum.