There ought to be a law .

[Dr_Zinj]

Look at it from a poor cop's perspective.
There's too many laws for them to know them all, except for the big ones, and any odd ones they just happen to have looked up before.
They see you do something, they have to think, "That's stupid". Then they have to go look up if it's against the law or not.

 

[PhysAssist]

But if you lean forward when you duck, you might be putting your head in the way of a projectile that would have otherwise missed you.

My advice, keep your head on a swivel and trust in the Lord

Too funny, and you're right. I never did know what to actually do when someone yelled "Heads up!!"- look up, duck, curl up into a ball, or do nothing and think small thoughts.

Per my favorite sci-fi author: "When in danger or in doubt- Run in circles, scream and shout!"
R.A Heinlein, the Dean of Science Fiction.

Thomas

 

[Scooby074]

Lawnmowers are bad enough, but you really need to watch the government ROW mowers. There have been several fatalities because of projectiles kicked up from bush hogs. Heres one thread from two years ago, http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/209230-another-death-dot-bush-hog.html Flails would go a long way to preventing these deaths and injuries form ROW mowing. My province had been trying flails, but it appears they have gone back to bush hogs. Likely due to cost/maintenance.. Not the safest solution by far.

 

[wedge40]

I've read most of these replies. Around here, most (Not all) people stop moving when a car approaches. I live in the middle of the woods, so I dont have worry about ever hitting someone, but my guard is still on the mower. Kind of wish it was spring loaded so I could put a cord on the lift it up every now and again, cause the deck get full of grass every now and again. I was mulling this over the other day as I was watching them cut the grass at work. We have miles of road frontage that gets cut on a regular basis, over the years the company that does the cutting has gone from rotary cutters to the old fashioned sickle bar mower.

Wedge

 

[PhysAssist]

We do have a spring loaded chute and I tied a cord to the rod it pivots on to allow us swing the chute up when in thick grass, otherwise it just clogs and then doesn't cut. It works well enough, but if the whole area I'm in is overgrown and thick, and nowhere near anything that could suffer from being struck by debris (i.e., distant from the house or road), sometimes I do bungee it open for the duration. I do try to mow with the chute toward the center of the area.

Tomas

 

[851 roger]

Just another good reason to own a shotgun

 

[PhysAssist]

Just another good reason to own a shotgun

Why? Is it because sometimes we disable our guard briefly? Or because we mostly use it? Or is it because by misspelling my name as Tomas, you think I'm an illegal immigrant here working as a gardener?

Just joshing you!

Thomas

PS: Prolly the legal beagle safety pole-eece will jump on you for suggesting using a gun in response to mower missiles, (or did you mean to suggest using the shotgun preemptively?

 

[linuxman51]

eh there are sufficient and numerous laws that can and would come in to play should someone suffer bodily harm both civil and criminal, ESP if it's the result of tampering with a 'safety device'. Likewise, there are laws that cover you if some dip blows the windows out of your house

The other side of it is everyone has lapses in judgement either intentionally or unintentionally. Claiming the high road on this issue doesn't excuse anyone from their own idiotic actions going forward. If the guy doesn't want to pay, get his info and file an insurance claim and provide all of his info to your ins co, and see what happens there..

I keep mine down cause... those things make a godawful mess up, how the heck can you mow any kind of grass like that? I'd be a green monster before I made the first pass. It's bad enough with the chutes down, I've gotta be on top of my game to cut down on the dirt content in my beer...

 

[851 roger]

Why? Is it because sometimes we disable our guard briefly? Or because we mostly use it? Or is it because by misspelling my name as Tomas, you think I'm an illegal immigrant here working as a gardener?

Just joshing you!

Thomas

PS: Prolly the legal beagle safety pole-eece will jump on you for suggesting using a gun in response to mower missiles, (or did you mean to suggest using the shotgun preemptively?

Good grief guys----- what I mean is shoot the mower--not the rider--the rider didn't throw the stuff--!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rtgt]

When I approach someone mowing along a roadway, I try to slow down and move over. I want to operator to have a chance to recognize I am there and give him a change to come to a stop. I am also watching him incase he makes an abrupt turn into the roadway.

Either way, objects get thrown from a mower, guard or not. Not all thrown objects come out the discharge chute either.

An operator is supposed to be paying attention to his equipment, etc and cannot always be aware of people or vehicles moving into the area he is operating. It is as much the responsibility of the passerby as well as the operator to recognize and avoid the hazard.

What peeves me is the idiots that blast down our county road at twice the speed limit and have no concern for people and or equipment nearby the roadway. Those fools pose a greater threat than a whole slew of guardless mowers. In those cases - I'd like to have a few extra rocks handy...