Working in the landscaping and lawn care world, chances are you work with some pretty hefty lawn mowers. You might have riding lawn mowers, or you might have some other kind of commercial-grade mower that gets the job done quickly. That lawn mower might extremely efficient and it might do a great job, but it’s also a pretty dangerous piece of machinery.
For example…
- The sharp, cutting edges of the mower blade can travel at 200 mph.
- The lawn mower can pick up stones, branches, and debris and missile-launch them at 200 mph.
- The muffler and cylinder of the mower get super hot and stay hot for a long time after the lawn mower is turned off.
- Gasoline = flammable.
- Lawn mowers are super loud. They can produce 100 decibels of noise, which can have negative effects on hearing over a long period of time.
So, yeah – that lawn mower might look super cool, but it’s also not a toy. Commercial lawn mowers can cause some pretty major damage if an accident happens. To help you and the people in the vicinity stay safe, check out the following tips.
1. Take care when fueling up.
When you’re filling up the gas tank of the lawn mower, make sure that you wipe up any spills. Do NOT fill up a lawn mower that’s still hot or warm from being used recently. Remember, gasoline = flammable = fire.
2. Dress to impress.
Make sure that you wear the proper clothing when you’re working with a commercial lawn mower, whether it’s a riding mower or not. You need to wear long pants, sturdy boots, and a close-fitting shirt. Basically, avoid anything loose or dangling that could get caught on something.
3. Don’t skip the hearing protection.
Prolonged exposure to the 100-decibel roar of a lawn mower can cause hearing damage later on, so protect your ears and your hearing by wearing the proper ear protection every time you use the lawn mower. You’ll look super stylish, don’t worry.
4. Clear the area before mowing.
Do a walk-around of the area that you’re planning to mow and make sure that it’s free of obstacles. If you accidentally mow over something, it could get turned into a projectile, seriously injuring you or someone else. Make sure that no one’s lingering around the area where they could be in the line of fire, and make sure that the ground is clear.
5. Don’t do backflips.
If you’re using a riding lawn mower, take care when you’re going uphill or downhill. Even if it’s just a slight slope, go straight up and down to avoid rolling over it. You don’t want to unintentionally do some crazy stunt work.
6. Don’t leave your lawn mower unattended.
Don’t walk away from the lawn mower, especially while it’s on. You don’t want any mishaps to happen if the machine decides to think for itself and take off. It’ll take out anything in its path. Or someone could stumble upon your lawn mower and decide to go for a joyride, and that can’t end well.
7. Don’t mess with the manufacturer’s safety features.
Don’t try to coax some extra speed or power from your lawn mower by dismantling the safety guards or features that are in place. They were put there for a reason, and that reason isn’t just to look cool. If the manufacturer put a safety feature on the machine, it’s to keep you safe. Don’t take your chances.
8. Don’t let the lawn mower accidentally start up during maintenance.
If you have to fix up your lawn mower a little or tinker around to figure out what’s wrong, take out the spark plugs. No spark plugs, no unexpected surprises. It definitely wouldn’t be good if that lawn mower decided to roar to life while you’re trying to fix it.
So, there you go – some easy safety tips to follow when you’re working with the fancy lawn mowers. Yes, you might have driven it a million times before, but don’t get lax about safety. Accidents can happen to anyone, so you need to do everything you can to prevent them from happening in the first place.
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