Lawn Mowing Safety

Lawn mowers are safe when used properly but extremely dangerous of safety rules are not observed. Follow these tips to avoid damage and injuries:

1. Read the owner's manual for your machine and be sure you can recognise all the parts of your mower.
2. Keep all nuts and bolts properly tightened
3. Walk the lawn if it hasn’t been mowed for a couple of weeks and pick up any obvious debris like rocks or sticks and anything that could tangle in the cylinder or cord of a mower, like string or wire
4. Wear sensible clothing, full shoes and long trousers will protect your legs from any debris that you didn’t spot in your walk, and if you’re using a mower with a reel, don’t wear anything loose that could flap into the moving parts
5. It can be a good idea to protect your hearing if you have a loud mower. Earplugs are a good idea
6. It's really important to keep pets and young children away from the lawn while you are mowing and never let children operate a lawn mower, no matter how responsible and intelligent they are because unexpected events can confuse them: a low flying bird, a yell from another child or a cat running across the lawn can all spell disaster
7. If you have a petrol mower, take care when refuelling. Stop the engine and allow it to cool for at least ten minutes before adding fuel. Don’t add fuel to the tank with the mower still on the lawn as petrol can kill the grass
8. Never leave a mower running unattended, or work on a motor that is running
9. If you have slopes in your garden, take extra care, a ride-on mower can overturn on a slope and even rotary mowers can flip sideways and dig into the slope. If you have only a gentle slope, mow across it, not up and down.

Lawn mower safety includes ensuring pets are at a safe distance from the mower. Cat on lawn courtesy of Benimoto.

 

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