Amazing the damage a traffic cone can do!

belfert · October 16, 2010, 05:12:25 AM

On my recent trip I was driving on I-80 in Iowa. There were two work zones with miles of the little traffic cones blocking the right lane. Unbeknownst to me I apparently hit one with the bus.

My bus has a lot of ground clearance and so I have an outlet mounted in an outdoor metal box on the bottom of the luggage bay. The traffic cone I hit destroyed the outlet and box. Not only that, but the cone bounced back up and put a dent in the corner of my trailer.

I didn't realize a traffic cone that weighs maybe a pound or so could do so much damage! I figured if I did hit one it wouldn't hurt anything. I didn't even realize I hit a cone until we stopped in Des Moines to drop a friend off at home and noticed the damage.

boxcarOkie · October 16, 2010, 05:26:31 AM

A friend of mine in Albq NM hit a LADDER that was lying in the road, that didn't do him any good. I made it all the way thru a traffic accident in the tule fog outside of Fresno California, sighed a big sigh, "I got it made." Bang! Hit a truck tire and rim in the middle of the road ... Life, what happens when you are not paying attention.

BCO

belfert · October 16, 2010, 05:31:53 AM

You would expect damage from hitting a ladder or tire. In a vehicle like a bus I wouldn't expect any damage from hitting a simple traffic cone. My damage is easy to fix at least.

bevans6 · October 16, 2010, 06:28:28 AM

On my trip home from Nova Scotia I ran into a section of road work where they had put traffic cones in the drive lane such that I was forced to hang the wheel of the car dolly into the shoulder of the road. The problem was that there was a long section where the drop-off to the shoulder was close to six inches - no problem for the truck in front of me, and the cars could run on the road surface but a problem for me if I wanted to keep the exhaust system on the towed car... I bet I hit a hundred cones, I just put the bus on the road so that the dolly tire was on by an inch or two, and carried on... I ticked every single cone, I think...

Brian

jackhartjr · October 16, 2010, 07:22:04 AM

Picture that same cone hitting you in the face at 45MPH or 60MH! It causes much damage!

gumpy · October 16, 2010, 07:26:29 AM

We were headed to Devin's rally this summer in Bemidji. Going through some construction near St. Cloud, we saw that they had used plastic barrels on the opposite side of the highway to restrict it down to one land. They had barrels on both sides of the lane. There was a large combine coming down the road. He hit every barrel on both sides of him with his wheels. The barrels were flying from both sides of the machine and he was just cruising on down the road. It was really funny to watch.

robertglines1 · October 16, 2010, 07:29:22 AM

been on both sides of the cones and barrels. most areas unless posted require contractor to leave a 12 ft minimum traffic lane unless posted..that said it is not always practice.and depends on the attitude of the person placing them..most state inspectors measure them and believe it or not their is a engineered plan before they are placed..Just do what you can to navigate safely and be aware of the workers behind the cones-they might be in a daze and not paying attention to what they are doing. sorry about the damage!Have actually seen 4 wheeler (car) draging Orange barrel under car,and didn't realize it (go figure).not everyone is as alert as you ..Safe bussing everyone and from the guys on the other side sorry one of us didn't do our job rite..PS contractor is responsible for any damage in work Zone.

belfert · October 16, 2010, 07:46:28 AM

I think in this case the contractor left plenty of lane. I probably just wasn't paying enough attention for a second and drifted too close to the cones. They had miles of cones in two work zones, but only two small crews sealcoating the shoulder. I am sure it is cheaper to make one huge work zone than to keep shifting the work zone.

Now, why they were sealcoating the shoulder is a mystery to me. I see shoulders on some interstates that are in far better condition than the driving lanes! I also see them replacing shoulders, but not touching the rutted driving lanes.

Lin · October 16, 2010, 07:47:11 AM

Those cones are heavier than you think; probably about 10 pounds. A ten pound weight at highway speeds can do a lot of damage. My brother once had a Mastiff dog. His favorite toy was a highway cone. At the time, I did not know how heavy they were and tried to play with the dog. He started swinging that cone back and forth as dogs do and really gave me quite a beating.

fe2_o3 · October 16, 2010, 10:05:44 AM

After years of wondering why they put out miles of cones to do 20ft of road work, I developed the theory that it's cheaper to store their cones and barrels on the road than to buy a fence to put around them on a vacant lot.
While driving a 60 ft. articulated bus through a construction site in northern Snohomish County, WA. a car going the other way hit a cone and shot it in to my lane. It got up under the front end and took out the QR1 valve and the air line to the brake can on the curb side. I took out 50ft. of cones trying to get off the road before we stopped. The base of the cone did all the damage. The resulting traffic headache lasted several hours while the truck driver tried to get the bus on his trailer...Cable