Summertime is a great time for sun, fun, and being outside. Most people don’t realize the potential accidents and medical emergencies that can result from lawnmower incident. Lawn mowers are the number one casue for amputations for children in the US.

I came across a few articles recently on the topic of lawn mowing safety, and it shocked me how many accidents there is each year in our country. Lawn mowing safety is very important because serious accidents can occur. A lawn mowing blades move at 200 miles an hour or 2,000 rotations a minute. Each year there are over 75 deaths and 20,000 injuries related to lawn mowing incidents.

Most of the deaths and injuries were related to riding lawn mowers that tipped over and in some cases, the driver was letting a child ride with them on the riding lawn mower. Riding lawn mowers should never have a passenger riding along. Riding lawn mowers should also never be riding sideways on a hill. They should always be going up or down the incline so they don’t tip. Never put your hand or foot under the lawn mower deck when it is running. Never leave a lawn mower running and left alone.

• Never allow children or pets to play in yard while it is being mowed
• Never allow child under twelve to operate push mover and child under 16 to use riding mower
• Never cut grass when it is really wet
• Do not drink or use drugs while mowing lawn
• Do not remove safety devices from mower
• Keep mower blades sharp and make sure the oil has been changed
• Never add oil or gas to a hot mower that was just used, let it sit for a few minutes to cool down
• Never mow without wearing sturdy close toed shoes, gloves, ear protection and eye protection
• Never mow without scouting out the area you are going to mow and pick up all rocks, toys, debris that you could potentially mow over
• Read owners manual and follow instruction with use and care of the lawnmower
• Never put your hands or feet under the mower even if it’s off, take out sparkplug and use a tool or broom to get off excess grass
• If there is an accident or fire call 911
• Don’t use a lawnmower to mow dry grass fields, use a field mower or hire someone
• Make sure you have a properly working spark arrester on all equipment
• Keep equipment clean and free of oil and gasoline on the machine
• Don’t pull off the road into dry grass or sagebrush with riding lawn mowers or vehicles because the hot pipes and mufflers can cause a fire

Proper clothing should always be worn when mowing a lawn to help safeguard against accidents. You should always wear long pants, shoes, and eye and ear protection. These precautions are necessary in case anything flies out from under the mower. Also, a mower exhaust can get up to 200 degrees and can severely burn your legs or feet if you don’t have protection.

Lawn mower maintenance is also very important. All bolts and screws should be checked and tightened on the lawnmower. You don’t want a wheel or the blade coming off while you are mowing. Checking that there is the right amount of oil in the machine is always good to do before each use. Something else that is really important is to wait for your mower to cool down before refueling. If you add fuel to a very hot machine it can result in fires in some cases. Also don’t store your mower in a hot place next to gasoline because it can also result in a fire. It is good to service mower in the spring and fall and in between if it is getting a lot of use. It is also a good idea to remove the spark plug or ignition key when doing maintenance, cleaning or inspections. Check and make sure all of the safety features of the mower work.

The most common cause of lawn mower injuries is projectiles being shot out by the lawnmower blade. Since the blade is spinning at 200 miles an hour if it hits a rock or piece of wood it can come flying out at the same speed. If there are pets or people around it can hit them and cause serious injury. That is why it is so important to do a  visual check of where you are about to mow and to move any objects like rocks or things that could hurt the mower or that could turn into projectiles. It is a good idea to keep pets, children, and others away from the mowing area while it is being mowed.

So in closing safety is more important than the lawn looking good. Take every necessary step and don’t cut any corners when it comes to lawn mowing safety. If you do encounter a lawn mowing accident and are not sure if you should call 911, it is better to call and be safe than not to. Be safe out there.

Lawnmowers can cause fires when the conditions are hot and the grass is dry. Dry grass getting packed in the mower deck can result in a lawn mower catching fire. Residential lawn mowers are not designed for mowing fields. When dry grass builds up in the mower deck and goes in the muffler it can catch fire, and then fall out and set a field on fire.

Fires can also happen from lawn mowers striking rocks and igniting a spark that can set dry grass on fire and burn up a large area. This is very similar to starting a fire using flint and steel like on survival shows like Naked and Afraid.

If you need to mow dry grass or brush it is recommended to wet the area you are about to mow. It is also a good idea to mow in the morning when humidity is higher, and avoid mowing on really, hot, dry, and windy days. If you are mowing in hot and dry conditions conducive to fire then start lawn mowing around your house and work outside to create a barrier that will not catch on fire since it has been mowed.

One common cause of lawn mower fires is when you add fuel or oil to a very hot engine that has been in use and the muffler is capable of igniting the vapors and starting your lawn mower on fire. Fill up mower with gas and check the oil level before you start mowing, and if you run out of gas and need to refill let the mower sit and cool off for a little while. Work on weed whacking or edging while the mower cools down. When you finish fueling the lawn mower or store the mower, don’t store the gasoline container near the mower and wipe up any spills. There have been cases of gas containers close to mowers starting fires. It should go without saying but don’t smoke while you are adding oil or gasoline to your mower.

A final tip for safety is when performing service on your mower or cleaning blades after use, you should disconnect the spark plug. It only requires a wrench to twist out the spark plug out of the mower, and then it snaps out of being connected to the wire. I read an article that every year people are injured from mowers that start by themselves when people turn the blade by hand. Nobody wants their mower coming on when they are not expecting so don’t make this possibly fatal mistake.

If you have any questions or if you are in Utah County and don’t want to risk catching your lawn mower on fire leave it to the professionals.