<PAGE>
EXHIBIT 21
QUIXOTE CORPORATION & SUBSIDIARIES
SUBSIDIARIES OF THE COMPANY
as of June 30, 2000
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Jurisdiction
Under Which
QUIXOTE CORPORATION (PARENT) Organized
---------------------------- -------------
<S> <C>
Quixote Transportation Safety, Inc. Delaware
TranSafe Corporation Delaware
Nu-Metrics, Inc. Delaware
Highway Information Systems, Inc. Delaware
TIS, Inc. North Carolina
Energy Absorption Systems, Inc. Delaware
E-Tech Testing Services, Inc. Delaware
Safe-Hit Corporation Nevada
Spin-Cast Plastics, Inc. Indiana
Energy Absorption Systems (Europe), Inc. Delaware
Quixote Transportation Systems (Asia Pacific)Pty Limited Australia
Quixote Transportation Systems (Europe), Inc. Delaware
Quixote Research Corporation Delaware
Quixote Foreign Sales Corporation U.S. Virgin Islands
</TABLE>
Quixote Transportation Safety, Inc., Quixote Research Corporation and Quixote
Foreign Sales Corporation are wholly-owned by Quixote Corporation.
TranSafe Corporation and Energy Absorption Systems, Inc. are wholly-owned by
Quixote Transportation Safety, Inc.
All subsidiaries listed under TranSafe Corporation, Highway Information
Systems, Inc. and Energy Absorption Systems, Inc. are wholly-owned by those
corporations.
