Blowing your lawn trimmings onto the road

[Dargo]

Personally, I've always made the first 3 passes or so with the mower chute discharging the clippings into the yard. When I had a mowing business I did so as well. It just makes for a much cleaner looking job. However, I constantly see people blowing their trimmings all over the road. I assume most people here have seen the same. If you're one who does so, you may want to change your ways.

Down the road a bit this guy only mows his lawn about every two weeks or so and just covers the little 2 lane road with his grass trimmings. He's done so for years. A couple of weeks ago I saw his wife out with a leaf blower blowing the trimmings back onto their lawn. Later I learned that a bad accident was caused when one car slowed for a dog in the road and a young girl in the next car skidded on the lawn trimmings and slammed into the back of the other car with both people badly injured. I'm told the homeowner is out on bail but will be charged with a crime, the level of which being determined by whether the one girl lives or not. If she dies, I'm told that he'll be charged with involuntary manslaughter for negligently creating an extremely dangerous situation on the roadway. At minimum he's going to have some criminal record and be out tens of thousands in attorney fees and have to live with knowing he severely injured two people just because he didn't care about making a roadway dangerous by covering it with his lawn trimmings.

I can't find anything online about it to post a link to, but I've asked several people and they all say that if you create a dangerous situation on a road, you are responsible. Covering the roadway with your grass trimmings is definitely considered creating a dangerous situation but it is rarely enforced until a tragedy occurs. If you're one who blows the trimmings on the road just think how you'd feel if you killed someone or, severely injured someone and ended up losing everything you own in law suits. I just thought I'd pass this story on and possibly prevent some accident, injury or arrest.

 

[EddieWalker]

Sad story. Sometimes I think we do things without realizing what might happen.

When I cut my grass along the road, I cut so that my clippings blow to the grass and away from the road. I never thought that the clippings might cause an accident, or make the road unsafe, I do it because I'm afraid that I might through a rock or piece of trash into oncoming traffic. I do it for safety, but never considered the actual clippings to be dangerous.

Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

I don't blow leaves or grass clippings onto the road, because when that stuff dries up and ultimately disappears, it didn't go into outer space -- the cars on the road break it up and turn it into dust.

I don't need a source of dust right next to my house.

 

[Thomas]

Last summer in our area gentlmen rounded corner on his motorcycle got in lawn clipping (alot) which was blown onto tar road..back tire of motorcycle broke traction and the rider hit hard,heard it cost home owner XX $$'s,but the kick is the homeowner had been warn in the past even when he snowblows the driveway.

 

[jinman]

Dargo, you said road, but I'm pretty sure you meant a paved street. I don't think gravel roads have any issue with grass clippings.

Back in the late '90s, I had occasion to attend several city council meetings in a fairly good sized city. They had a fellow there who was selling a machine to clean out storm sewer pipes. During the meeting, they discussed how sand got into the storm drains and street sweeping would help to prevent that. They also talked about people blowing grass clippings into the street and having them wash into the storm sewers. They mentioned that summer was a time where grass clippings tended to build up and start debris clogs. However, I don't think a darn thing was ever done about passing a city ordinance because guess who was the worst offenders when it came to having hired landscapers blowing trimmings around? Yep! The folks with the biggest houses and biggest lawns were also the members of the city council.

 

[dave1949]

Dargo, Thanks for that warning. I know wet leaves are very slippery, I never thought about grass clippings. Sad story.

Like Thomas said, some people around here think shoveling snow into the road is okay. Or plow drivers leave a bank of snow in the road rather than back up one more time and finish the job right. We have a small army of guys who plow private roads and driveways with pickups in this region.

Dave

 

[2manyrocks]

Good post. Now that you bring it up, I can see where grass clippings could be bad for motorcyclists in particular.

I try to blow mine back in the yard just because it looks better.

 

[dmccarty]

I have never heard of a case like this before. Interesting.

Back in the city I had a mulching mower. I had a raised bed right next to the road with just enough room for me to get the mower between the bed and road. The mower did not blow grass per say but some would get into the road.

I would blow or sweep the clipping back into my yard best as I could. Quite a few people just left the grass in the road and they did not have mulching mowers. The city I lived in is the hieght of snootyness. Hated the place. But as far as I know they did not have a rule prohibiting the grass in the road.

Later,
Dan

 

[tallyho8]

Most cities have an ordnance against sweeping or blowing grass and leaves into the street or storm drains. I still see many people sweeping piles of grass into storm drains and I guess they will be the first to complain when their home floods.

The worst offenders I see are lawn maintenance workers at fast food joints and govt workers on the medians.

 

[LBrown59]

Sad story. Sometimes I think we do things without realizing what might happen.

When I cut my grass along the road, I cut so that my clippings blow to the grass and away from the road. I never thought that the clippings might cause an accident, or make the road unsafe, I do it because I'm afraid that I might through a rock or piece of trash into oncoming traffic. I do it for safety, but never considered the actual clippings to be dangerous.

Eddie

I don't know as they are.
I don't really see it as a big issue .
The traffic wil blow them rite back off the road.