"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
Just something I'm curious about...

I assume we've all seen the impact attenuators they put in front of
concrete highway dividers and toll booths - the barrels of sand or
large rubber bumbers. They're supposed to slow a vehicle down so they
don't hit the solid obstruction at full speed.

Why do they mark them with orange cones after they get damaged?

What's the point of marking them with "caution cones" when no one
would actually consider hitting them even if they weren't damaged?

I work for our state's DOT, during the winter. I set out plenty of barrels,
when not keeping the xways free of snow & ice. Our barrels are empty, we
place a dual rubber base to keep it in place. By hand, you can move these
where ever you please. They are not meant to slow down a vehicle veering
out of control.

It's a liability thing on the State's part. Being the crash attenuator is
no longer functional, it must be marked. It relieves the state from
liability from someone claiming the state put potential hazard in their
right-of-way, intentionally.

If you look at any potential hazards in your State, chances are, they are
marked. That is, unless the marking has become defaced. A call to your
controlling authority, being local or DOT, will get the hazard
fixed.....ASAP. This is not to say exit sign posts are to be marked,
because they already use reflective letters or backing. Also, the post must
be able to bend or shear, or both.

Two years ago, in different district than ours, they had piled snow in
front of the exit signs, which are placed in the Gore (the triangle area
between the roadway and exit). They had rain, then freeze. What they ended
up with, was a giant ramp, which a vehicle had launched off of, when they
missed the exit ramp. The state settled out of court on this, since the
state had placed a hazard within their right-of-way.