As summer begins, that means lawns need mowing. However, that also means we need to think about lawn mower safety. From 2012-2014, an average of 36,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for walk-behind power mower injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC also estimates there were 35,000 consumer injuries related to riding mower incidents were treated annually in hospital emergency rooms during 2012-2014. Based on incidents reported to CPSC, an annual average of about 90 deaths was attributed to riding mowers during 2008-2010. Fatal incidents have several common patterns: the machine tips over, the victim falls under or is run over by the machine (incidents involving young children are in this category), or the victim is thrown from or falls off the machine.
Check out the CPSC website for more information on power mower and riding mower safety.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also has some tips on keeping your children safe while mowing the lawn.