Editing Traffic cone (section)

==History==
Traffic cones were invented by Charles D. Scanlon, an American who, while working as a painter for the Street Painting Department of the City of Los Angeles, was unimpressed with the traditional wooden tripods and barriers used to mark roads which were damaged or undergoing repainting. Scanlon regarded these wooden structures as easily broken, hard to see, and a hazard to passing traffic.<ref>{{cite web|title=INTERSTATE RUBBER PROD. CORP. v. RADIATOR SPECIALTY CO.|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/1954760214F2d546_1587|work=United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. 214 F.2d 546 (1954)|access-date=13 December 2013}}</ref> Scanlon's rubber cone was designed to return to an upright position when struck by a glancing blow. The patent for his invention was granted in 1943.<ref>{{cite web|title=US Patent US2333273 A|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2333273|access-date=13 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trafficsafetystore.com/traffic-cones/history|title=History of The Traffic Cone|year=2014|publisher=Traffic Safety Store|access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref>

Traffic cones were first used in the United Kingdom in 1958, when the [[M6 motorway]] opened. These traffic cones were a substitute for red lantern [[Kerosene|paraffin]] burners being used during construction on the Preston Bypass.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tprts.com/tpr_traffic_solutions_cones.html|title=Cones|publisher=TPR Traffic Solutions|access-date=30 April 2012}}</ref>  David Morgan of [[Burford]], [[Oxfordshire]], UK believes that he constructed the first experimental plastic traffic cones in 1961 while working at [[Imperial Chemical Industries]], which replaced pyramid-shaped wooden cones previously used.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDtK62KVHtQC&q=Traffic+cone+history+David+Morgan&pg=PA49|title=Eccentric Britain, 2nd: The Bradt Guide to Britain's Follies and Foibles|year=2005|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|pages=49–51|isbn=9781841621227|access-date=30 April 2012}}</ref>

In the United States on May 1, 1959, the [[Pacific Gas and Electric Company]] in [[Oakland, California]] adopted the policy of placing orange safety cones at the left front and left rear corners of their service trucks while parked on the street to increase visibility and safety for the workers. This policy was implemented as the result of a suggestion by their employee, Russell Storch, a cable splicer. He was awarded $45 for his suggestion. This policy is still in use today.<ref>PG&E file number 761.1, Suggestion number 1-1759 a letter dated May 1, 1959 from PG&E awarding Mr. Russell Storch an employee of PG&E $45.00 for his suggestion of the use of the cones</ref>

Modern traffic cones are usually made of brightly colored [[thermoplastic]]. [[polyvinyl chloride|PVC]] from bottles can be [[Recycling|recycled]] to make traffic cones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.eb.com/eb/article-82494|title=Plastic|year=2010|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date=25 February 2010|quote=PVC recovered from bottles may be used in traffic cones}}</ref>