A man in Missouri died after the lawnmower he was driving flipped and pinned him underneath the water of a private pond.
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I've got a slope along the road in front of my place that's about 65 yards long, 6 feet high, and at about a 60 degree angle that I have to mow with a self propelled push mower because it's way too steep for a zero-turn mower. I used to mow right to the edge of it until one day the grass was still a little damp and my zero-turn started to slide, just like the young man in the story. Luckily I was able to recover before I flipped it. Now I make a couple extra passes up top with the push mower just to be on the safe side.
Being at 15' above sea level, our yard is flat, except at the edge of both marshes. Weed Eater w/in 3' of there. Slope is close to 8%.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was common sense not to use heavy equipment near water, it sinks in easily, slips, difficult to control, etc. A string trimmer is glorious for trimming up around ditches and puddles. Grass season has been rough down here in the south and my ~10 year old (Sthil) string trimmer is due for a commercial upgrade.
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Last words: "Oh, shit!"
ReplyDeleteI was in an empty log truck and survived a head on collision with a loaded log truck and those were indeed my 'last words'.
DeleteBe careful. The EPA might consider that area to be a wetland and have a Special Agent of the Amry Corps of Engineers come arrest you for violations of the Clean Water Act under the Waters of the United States Act statutes.
ReplyDeleteHappy Independence Day.
Here's one for you, about 20 years my uncle who was a good size dairy farmer comes up missing after chores. Family looked around for him and noticed all the vehicles were home, but the skidloader was missing. Turns out he was cleaning up barnyard and got too close to a slurry pit and in he went. Drowned in liquid cow manure still strapped in the seat.
ReplyDeleteMethane gas is a killer. The area of California I came from had a shitload of huge dairies and at least once a year, you'd hear about somebody dying in a shit pit when he was overcome with a heavy concentration of methane gas. Most of the time it was 2 deaths because Victim #2 would try to rescue Victim #1 and he'd get gassed too.
DeleteHad a caretaker at a local historical site flip a zero turn due to an undercut bank on a creek that runs through the property. He drowned in a foot of water. Super nice older gentleman, it was a sad day.
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It seems to be a common thing in areas that have drainage ditches - I heard the same story about someone I knew in passing, zero turn flipped in the ditch he was buckled in and drown in literally 6 inches of water
DeleteWhen I was a teen mowing grass for pocket money, we had a lot of steep slopes. What we did was tie a rope to either side of the rear wheel mounts on the mower long enough to go to the bottom of the slope, then stand on the top of the slope and let the mower down slow then pull it back up. You could steer a little by how you pulled the rope. A lot easier (and safer) than trying to brute force the mower up the slope or follow it down. (Mowers back then didn't have the kill bar to hold down to run.)
ReplyDeleteDamn... Zero Turn mowers were not meant for inclines. I have a hill that's about 18°. I think my maximum for the mower is 15°.
ReplyDeleteMy Exmark struggles if the lawn is moist. The front's casters want to fall down the hill so you have to counter steer. Still, I wouldn't trade it...
Bought a Wheel Horse years ago that came from a place with sculpted lawns made hills and ponds. They filled the tires with antifreeze. The extra weight kept them stable. I put a loader on it. Quite the machine for its size.
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