It's the pits when your company spends several hours setting up barricade lights in the evening only to show up the following morning and find several knocked down by motor vehicles. Granted, a DUI driver may hit them no matter how brightly lit they are, but some drivers simply do not see them when not paying attention or sleepy. Whatever the case, when the barricade lights aren’t standing, wrecks can happen in a snap.

A barricade lights provider should lease you the finest products available. If they don't they may be trying to cut corners. Everyone wants to make a profit, but when the barricades do not attract the drivers' attention, they may be putting lives at risk—drivers, passengers and highway or construction workers. When investigating barricade lights information, consider the following:

1. Make sure drivers see the lights 24 hours a day.

2. Use barricade lights that stay lit after abuse by an 80,000-pound big rig carrier.

3. High intensity lights are worth the extra investment to save the lives of your highway workers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use barricade lights that drivers can see day or night

When checking barricade lights information, make sure the barricades are readily seen no matter the conditions or time of day. Bright colors help attract drivers' attention in the day, and brightly flashing lights and reflective tape grab their attention at night. Even when you find the most eye-catching barricades and lights available, someone will still run them down, but not as often.

I recommend: You can order LED barricade lights from Brandon Safety Lights. You can also order amber barricade lights from Grainger.

Use only durable barricade lights

If you check a barricade lights list for product specifications, make sure the lights you buy are durable. You can warn drivers every 50 feet for six miles that the road narrows ahead, but there are still drivers who will wait to change lanes until after their vehicles smash the barricades. Use barricade lights made of tough materials to withstand such abuse. Find light covers made of polycarbonate or other break resistant material that can take punishment.

I recommend: You can buy tough barricade lights at Fire Safety USA. Traffic & Parking Control Company has several different models of barricade lights from which to choose.

Keep high-intensity barricade lights on hand for the best driver alerts

Use high-intensity barricade lights for best visibility in the day or night. High-intensity barricade lighting at construction zones saves countless lives because of their superior performance.

I recommend: You can find 360-degree strobe lights at C&C Signal in Mesa, AZ. Markstaar of La Crosse, KS, has a high-intensity LED B-Light among its barricade offerings.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Place warning barricade lights out well before drivers arrive at blind curves. You don't want them heading into your construction zone at 75 miles per hour if you can help it.