Kevin,
[[[It makes sense to shut down a mower if the driver leaves the seat (most of the time). Not sure why from the compact size up that would still be considered useful/necessary???]]]
Coincidentally, it was just yesterday that my rancher/tractor-operator neighbor told me of someone who was killed when he lost both legs to a sickle-bar mower after he was bounced/thrown from the seat.
Not all "leaving the seat" is intentional.
I'm guessing that there are many stories of this nature to support a driver absent shut-off, ... if leaving the seat intentionally, and wishing to keep equipment operating, the override can be utilized.
I'm sure there is more that could be said about this (maybe it will be, on TBN) but I'm not unhappy to have this feature on my JD4700 /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif !
PS: And just today I watched another neighbor driving back and forth in his field STANDING UP (!) on his tractor,. He had a spray rig mounted, and I guessed he was looking for tansy or some other weeds. Looked pretty scary to me, considering these stories we keep reading on TBN. He would probably say his field is smooth, or he wasn't going really fast, or something. Maybe so, but if I'm going to be standing up looking for weeds, I'll be in the back of a truck (the springs/shocks are so much better), holding on to a roofrack, or I'll be WALKING! /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif
Larry