Who invented the traffic cone?
Traffic cones were invented in 1914 by an American, Charles P Rudabaker. His version for use on the streets of New York was made out of concrete. The first cones used in Britain were to replace red lantern paraffin burners during the construction of the Preston bypass, which opened in 1958. The design of the modern plastic cone was refined by David Morgan of Oxford in 1961 while working for the chemical giant ICI. He currently holds the Guinness World Record for a collection of 137 different cones. Today all cones have to conform to the standard BS EN 13422, which specifies a weight and vertical angle for every type of cone. This also ensures cones of different makes can still be stacked one on top of the other. Sizes vary depending on where a cone will be used. The higher the road speed, the taller the cone needs to be. Motorway contractors use metre-high models costing about £12 each, while slower city traffic requires a smaller 75cm model. They are usually made from recycled materia
