Mow along the highway

[SCtractorguy]

And now wouldn't ya know it I was driving down the road yesterday and the county has staged two of its big mowing machines on an empty lot. They are going to mow the along the road on Monday... :laughing: :confused2:

I love their set ups. Big ole' Fords with the dual 8' mower decks, one that swings up on hydraulics. They can get down in the ditch and along the bank better than me.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I was driving friday and a mower with a walk behind commercial nailed the side of my car with grass and who knows what, I could hear it hitting.

I try not to discharge towards the road, my neighbors yard, my driveway, my buildings, my flowerbeds, etc unless I absolutely can't do it any other way. Along the road I mow away from the road until I'm far enough to where it won't reach the road if I discharge that way, and then I still stop if a car is coming.

 

[radioman]

Sidenote: if anyone is mowing along the road, no matter how tall or short the grass is, if your discharge chut is towards the road, even if you are more then 3 rows away from road, just take a moment to stop when you see a car, no need to turn off the mower. Just doing it this way will prevent running over something you cant see and discharge things at a high rate. Most people don't care what you doing, but I have gotten a few waves from people I don't know and it makes me feel good.

Its all about respect.

 

[DiezNutz]

Sidenote: if anyone is mowing along the road, no matter how tall or short the grass is, if your discharge chut is towards the road, even if you are more then 3 rows away from road, just take a moment to stop when you see a car, no need to turn off the mower. Just doing it this way will prevent running over something you cant see and discharge things at a high rate. Most people don't care what you doing, but I have gotten a few waves from people I don't know and it makes me feel good.

Its all about respect.

Agree completely. :thumbsup:
I'm also happy to see so many posts from fellow members who don't discharge into the road and/or always stop when a vehicle passes, like I always did when I used to have to mow along a road.

If only everyone were as courteous.

 

[thavil]

I even stop using my weed eater, when clearing my ditch along the road, when a car comes by. I would hate to kick something up and hit a passing car. I get quite a few waves from passing cars because they can tell that I'm looking out for them.

 

[Bluelick]

An interesting item in the news related to this thread:

Mower blade cuts through wall in Pike County
By Josh Kegley - jkegley@herald-leader.com

The Pike County judge-executive has ordered county-owned lawn mowers parked indefinitely after a 12-pound blade flew off a mowing deck and crashed into a Shelbiana resident's home Wednesday.

Valerie Keene, 47, said the mower blade flew 500 feet before cutting through the outside wall of her house and an inside wall, coming to rest in the room where her 16-month-old daughter was sleeping.

Read more: Mower blade cuts through wall in Pike County - State - Kentucky.com

 

[EE_Bota]

Blowing clippings on the road could cause a motorcyclist to wipe out for lack of traction, they could also cause a car to lose traction if they are doing a panic stop.
Could you be held legally liable? I don't know, but I would feel guilty if someone was hurt or killed due to me having blown clippings onto the road. As such, it is not worth it to me to blow clippings onto the road.

Aaron Z

The motorcyclist issue is my main problem with blowing grass on the highway.

My yard goes up to the road, and so do most folks in my immediate area. So we all mow to the road, and keep it as part of our yards. I discharge my grass away from the road, but if a car is passing nearby, instead of stopping the blades, I stop forward movement of the machine several seconds before the car is near me. I do this so they will be confident that nothing is likely to be thrown in their direction.

The strangest thing I have found is a bag full of marijuana seeds and stems right under my mailbox. If I did not maintain the roadside, those could have sprouted and lead to traffic jams, arrests, confiscation of my house, or if a grass fire happened, a local food shortage.

 

[MikeD74T]

know i'm going against the flow here, but....my observation is that too many homeowners are compulsive in getting that close mowed look from doorstep to blacktop....and put themselves and drivers at risk in the process. the worst are rider lawnmowers shooting a trail of grass onto the highway while putting themselves half way out into the shoulder....but then again, guess i never really was a suburban guy that had to have that squeaky clean look for my lawn....what's really gained, what's at risk? bb

I have 575' of road frontage of which about 100' is lawn directly to the pavement in front of my house/driveway. I keep the rest mowed in spite of it being separated from the rest of my lawn by a stone wall & a thick hemlock hedge.

• What's gained?? There is no tall grass to obscure garbage or hazards for pedestrians forced off the road by traffic. It's a 24' road on a 35' ROW so there's little room left on each side. Most of the road has shoulders of 18" or less & steep drops of up to 6'. It's kind of a bypass from US Route 1 so it sees more traffic than I'd like, but it sees a ton of walkers, joggers, bicyclists. I also keep it free of poison ivy for the same reasons.
• What's at risk? I mow with a bagger & could see any trash, etc. so my only risk is exposure to traffic for the few minutes it takes to mow. Town only mows once a year, this week in fact. I acknowledge this is actual risk because two cars have left the pavement & hit the pole a/o stone wall along my frontage as well as numerous other similar occurrances on the 1-1/2 mile road.

I guess keeping it maintained is kind of a random act of kindness type of thing. The only time I set foot on that ground it to maintain it for the benefit of others. MikeD74T

 

[Johndeere3720]

:laughing: wasn't really expecting that.
Gotta admit, would be kinda funny to see (from a safe distance...)

:laughing::laughing:

 

[Johndeere3720]

i only mow along our driveways. Safety first. :thumbsup: