As we continue our lawn care safety series, the ever-popular riding lawnmowers must be included. Last week we reviewed overall lawnmower safety and in addition we focused on safety tips for walk-behind rotary mowers.
From 2008 to 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimate that 35,000 consumers injuries related to riding mower incidents were treated annually in hospital emergency rooms (CPSC,2012). Most fatalities involved a machine rolling over or running over someone or a person being thrown from or falling off the mower.
Therefore, one of the first safety rules is do not leave the keys in your mower. It seems obvious, but leaving the keys in your lawnmower, if it has a key start, is asking for trouble. It is like a personal invitation for a child because what child does not love to sit on a mower and pretend, they are driving it. By leaving the key in it, you are inviting them too actually do just that.
Another safety rule is to remove the spark plug before working on the blade. It too may sound a little obvious, but always remove the lawnmower spark plug when working on the blade. If the piston happens to be at the top of the compression stroke, a little bump might force the piston over the “hump” and into the power stroke. This could potentially cause the blade to lurch forward, possible whacking your hand in the process.
Know which way to mow when you are mowing on an incline is another important safety rule. If you are mowing with a riding lawnmower, mow up and down the slope to reduce the risk of a rollover incident. A rollover incident refers to the type of occurrence that happens when the operator does not look behind the mower when backing up on a riding lawnmower and accidentally runs over a child or a pet.
Other safety rules for riding lawnmowers are:
- Do not allow extra riders on a mower (even if you are not mowing).
- Never leave a running mower unattended.
- Start the mower outside or in a well-ventilated garage area to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide gas buildup.
- Always allow the mower to cool before refueling it to reduce the risk of a flash fire. Most mowers are fueled by gasoline, which is highly explosive and flammable. If you accidentally spill gasoline when refueling, quickly and carefully wipe up the fuel. Burns may occur if one carelessly refuels when an engine is hot.
- Beautiful lawns enhance any home or building, but achieving this beautiful lawn does have some safety risks so Keeping an Eye on Safety is always crucial.
