In today’s day and age when using power equipment is so common, mowing a lawn is often taken for granted. Whether using a gas-powered push mower, an electric mower, or one of the latest zero-turn riding lawn mowers, people today have more choices than ever when it comes to having a beautiful lawn. However, as it is when using any type of power equipment, accidents can happen if certain precautions are not taken. This is particularly true with lawn mowers, where thousands of people are injured or killed annually due to carelessness. To make sure you don’t become a victim of a very preventable accident, here are five crucial safety features to look for in a lawn mower.
1- Handle Lever
While years ago most push mowers did not come with handle levers, today’s models have been modified to include handle levers. Situated on the mower’s handle, the lever is designed so that it must be held down in order for the mower to keep running. Hailed as one of the best safety measures to be put on lawn mowers, it nevertheless is liked by some and disliked by others, since many people do not enjoy having to hold down the lever the entire time they are mowing. Yet if you fell while mowing on a hill or had a small child or pet run out in front of you unexpectedly, the lever can make all the difference in preventing a tragedy.
2- Blade-Brake Clutch System
If you’re wanting to briefly turn off the mower’s blades without killing the motor, make sure your lawn mower comes equipped with a blade-brake clutch system. Not only will this save you the trouble of having to restart the engine, but it can also be an important safety feature. Useful if you need to talk on your cell phone or have a face-to-face conversation, the blade-brake clutch system can ensure your mower will keep running without putting you or others at risk. Additional information about this safety feature can be found here.
3- Back Flap
When you’re mowing your yard, there are bound to have been times when you’ve run over objects. However, if your mower was equipped with a back flap, chances are it stayed under the mower rather than fly out the back of the mower. Therefore, if you’re using a push mower, never use one unless it has a rear rubber flap. Otherwise, you could be putting yourself at great risk of having something fly out at you, and even the smallest objects shot out from under a mower can cause tremendous physical harm. For more information about the importance of back flaps, visit here.
4- Throw Guard
Just as the back flap is important to ensure objects don’t fly out the rear of the mower, the throw guard on the side of the mower can keep objects from flying out the side and damaging property, people, or pets. While some people choose to remove this feature sometimes, it’s highly recommended by safety experts to leave it in place. Otherwise, you could find yourself with a broken window or broken bone from an object that appears to have been shot out like a missile.
5- Reverse Awareness System
For many of today’s modern riding lawn mowers, they are equipped with features that often make them similar to automobiles. In recent years, one of the most innovative and useful safety features is the reverse awareness system. Much like large trucks and other vehicles, this feature beeps loudly when the mower is put in reverse, allowing others to be made aware that the mower may be moving near them. Credited with saving countless lives over the years, this feature is now standard on virtually all riding lawn mowers.
While it’s possible you could mow your yard time after time with no incident, those who have been injured when doing so realize it takes only a split second for something to go seriously wrong. Because of this, it’s vital to make sure that no matter what type of mower you may be using, it comes equipped with numerous safety features, since they could ultimately keep you or a loved one from harm.
