Characteristics
Numerous suppliers and fabricators have created crowd control barricades, but over the years, some unofficial standards have been generally accepted. These characteristics have been inherent in the barricades offered by the leading suppliers since the 1990s.
The international standard barrier lengths are 1-metre, 2-metre, and 2.5-metre. The standard height (for optimum safety and visibility) of a barrier is 43 inches. An 8-foot barricade weights approximately 55 pounds.
To prevent damage, standard barricades are made of 16-gauge steel tubing, measuring 1.5 inches on the outside diameter. Quality barricades are also hot dip galvanized after fabrication, which allows the barriers to be placed and even stored outside without the danger of rusting.
Some barricades are manufactured with bases welded to the barrier; others feature bases which are bolted on. The latter are advantageous because they are replaceable (a new base can be inserted; thus damage to a base doesn't render the rest of the barrier unusable). There are four main styles of replaceable bases: flat bases, bridge bases, U bases, and wheel bases, all of which offer advantages in different circumstances.
Crowd control barricades are sometimes placed side by side without being attached, but they are most effective when they are hooked together. Without a solid interlock, barriers can be lifted out of place by individuals in a crowd, compromising the integrity of a line. The most popular hook style is the "classic" style in which the male hooks are 15 inches apart. The second most common, the "wide hook" style, has the male hooks 25 inches apart.
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