Paul Harvey

[Charles]

Was just listening to Paul Harvey. He said someone was mowing beside the road. The mower blade came out from under the deck. Penetrated a passing car and killed 2 people. Has anyone heard anything about this? He didn't really give much detail.Oh yes it went through the car door he said.<br>

[Scraper]

Haven't heard of it, but always a concern of mine. Just another reason to make sure you have insurance!

[Orkin Yards]

i don't konw about the particular situation, but i know that it has happened. There was a a laddy killed here in MS i believe when a bushog on the interstate lost a blade and it went thorugh the window and cut her head off literally. Her 6 year old kid had to witness the whole thing sitting in the passanger seat, it made all the news stations...

[HOMER]

This all sounds like just another reason to cover your butt's. Please don't try and run a business without the proper insurance, it can happen in an instant. Lat year, I think it was around here somewhere, a little 6 year old girl was playing in her grandfathers back yard while he was weedeating. He tapped his trimmer to advance some line out and a very small piece of string flew off and hit the girl. She fell over so he went to check on her, she was dead! The string had pierced her skull like a bullet and lodged in her brain.<p>If you don't think your in a very dangerous business, think again. Anytime you have rotating parts the potential is there for something to go wrong. Always check your area out and know whats going on around you. Tell anybody that helps you to lift the trimmers when motorists or pedestrians pass by, ya I know we're all in a big hurry but it could save a life. If nothing else, it may save you from buying a windshield.<p>Homer

[fireball]

do you know the difference between a fairy tale and a landscaping story? the fairy tale begins with once upon a time and the landscape story starts with you won't believe this sh_t.<p>Anyway, I was doing a job for a company Paul Harvey advertises for. I was standing out front of the hospital with the hospital president, risk manager, saftey officier, the union saftey officier, my insurance man, the insurance company's loss prevention specialist, fire marshall, and the facility manager. My grass crew was cutting the grass and one of the crew was cutting an island in the parking lot with a 48&quot;Bunton WB. He ran over a stone, hitting it, it came out of the mower with the mulching plate on it, hit the front grill of the car he was passing, it went across the island, hit the left front fender one car, ricochet off the right rear fender of the car park next to it, flew 478 ft(measured by investigating police Hamilton, NJ) hit a telephone pole, then flew into the passanger window that was open 1/4 inch and struck the women siting in the front seat next to her husband who was driving by at 53 MPH(his statement not mine). Total time 2 or 3 seconds. My first reply was good because I don't have to explain this to anyone because you all watched it happen. The old man came to a screeching halt because all he saw was blood everywhere and her screaming. We all ran over to give assistance and the old man refused to believe that was what happened. The wife got 87 stichs to the face and head. Medical bills were 118,00 and property damage 3,200. To this day, the old man is convinced that his wife had something to do with it. He couldn't believe that a bunch of contractors would even admit that they did it and pay for everything. Guess he didn't have much faith in his fellow man.<p>the kid operating the mower felt so bad that he gave up landscaping and went back to school. He is now the site director for Squibb in New Brunswick and claims that he now belives anything is possible when it comes to accidents but nobody has ever topped his story

[jeffclc]

While I haven't heard the story yet, I have experienced something similar. I was driving down a road, and a homeowner was mowing his lawn with a Craftsman tractor.<p>He hit some gravel in the lawn, and the discharge chute was aimed twords the road. The car in front of me was hit by sime flying stones. I don't know how bad the damage was, but the driver did stop.<p>I always think of the direction of my discharge chute while mowing around cars, people, buildings, ect.<br>

[moonarrow]

yes it did happen yesterday I heard it on the news and was ruled an accident and the operator was not charged with anything also the 2 people were killed it passed on through the car and hit something else. yes this a tru story not fiction<p>----------<br>Dale moonarrow@hotmail.com<br>Southern lawn and Landscape

[southside]

Another bush hog contractor and myself were<br>slashing a large industrial block when he<br>hit a rock about the size of a baseball,the rock shot out and penetrated the drivers door of a small hatch back.Fortunately,the<br>car was empty.Bloody dangerous.Blades on these machines have about the same tip speed as a mower.15000 feet per second.

[Eric ELM]

I grew up in a small farm area in SD with a town of 500 people and I know of three mower accidents. 1) A girl 1 year older than me was mowing her lawn and hit a spoon laying in the lawn and it went through her shoe and into her foot. 2) My neighbor and classmate was mowing and hit a small piece of wire which hit the garage and bounced back and hit his eye and missed his brain by a fraction of an inch, but lost his eye. 3) A farmer I was working for one summer and I was working on a tractor. His wife was mowing and pulled the push mower up hill and her foot slipped under the mower cutting off all her toes but the big toe. I drove the car to the hospital while he held his belt around her leg as a tunicate. It was a bloody mess. You can never be too careful and expect the unexpected.<p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

[Green Acres]

I think that alot of people forget how dangerous this job can be. I just started out a couple of years ago so I don't have as much expericence as some on this forum. However I do have a couple of part-time employes that worry me sometimes because it seems like they don't realize how fast something can go wrong. So I'm going to print out all the replies to this discussion and post them up in the shop. So they know that bad things can happen if your not carefull. Thanks

[Charles]

I have had rocks come out from all area of the deck. One came out from the opposite side of the shoot. Flew over the top of a passing car on the hwy. I just held my breath while it sailed. I have gone under trees and been stabbed in the chest by sharp sturdy limbs. Good thing to wear safety glasses while mowing because of sharp lowhanging limbs.

[MOW ED]

Yes thi did happen for sure in Mid Wisconsin. It was all over our local news in Green Bay. If you want details let me know and I'll find out. This was a freak accident on a little traveled road by a ditch mower.

[CA Enterprises]

Haven't heard the story. This is certainly a dangerous business.<br>My father is missing part of a finger, on an old lawn boy that climb the starter rope after it started. The mower proceeded digest the tip of his right ring finger.<p>He also hit a metal stack once when I was about 8yrs old stricking my right forearm about 20 feet away. Looking back on it, I had no business being that young and helping to mow anything!!!!!!! Damn, I still remember how bad that hurt. Luckily I still have all appendages and no broken bones. &quot;Knock on wood&quot;<p>

[jrblawncare]

As you all can see from the above things can and will happen.At my old job I was a saftey rep.for around 500 peaple because I did lawn care on the side I was asked to put together a saftey program on lawn care,I had alot of numbers to show on how many folks get hurt each year working in their yards {I can not find my overheads}But the numbers are VERY HIGH!!The only thing I would like add is if you are not wearing steel toe saftey shoes please do,they work.I was trimming with a 21&quot; mower under a hedge that lined a parking lot I steped in some oil that had leaked from a car and I pulled that mower over my foot.I stalled the mower with my steel toe,the blade cut right to the steel,I did not get hurt and a real wake up call!! Saftey should be on everyones mind when working in the shop or on the job and at home.I wish you all good luck this year and hope its a safe one.<p>----------<br>John <br>

[Gene $immons]

And now you know................The rest of the Story

[Pecker]

Anybody know why the blade came off?? Do ya think the bolt had come loose or maybe the mower was damaged from hitting something? I'd sure like to know to make sure I never make THAT mistake. There are just so many things that can go wrong.

[hunter]

Sad to say but here's another story of a recent killing by a mower projectile.

Lawn mower projectile hits, kills woman

HILLSDALE - A 61-year-old woman died Tuesday after she was hit by an object thrown by a mowing tractor.

Patricia Anne Russell of Ransom Township was standing in the driveway of her residence at 4100 East Montgomery Rd. when an object - possibly a portion of a driveway reflector - hit her in the chest, the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office said. The object was kicked up by a Hillsdale County Road Commission tractor operated by Wilfred Hamilton, 77, who was mowing the sides of the road.

Ms. Russell was taken to the Hillsdale Community Health Center, where she was pronounced dead. Sheriff Stan Burchardt said the accident is under investigation.

[FrankenScagMachines]

I was working at a friend’s small engine shop one day on a push mower, just put on a new throttle cable and was running it to check operation, in the shop which is a pole barn with concrete floor. We hadn’t touched the blade or anything yet, just changed the cable. Well I started it up and it’s running fine no rattling noise then all of a sudden a banging noise, sparks and something flying across the floor! The blade had come off at full throttle, sending it across the floor out the left side of the deck and it went over and hit the inside wall of the building, approximately 15’ or so away and then ricocheted several feet back, still spinning on the floor! I was wearing steel toes that day, but I also realized that the blade would not have been able to come through the rear of the mower deck easily if at all because the wheels are narrower than the blade, it could only have went through one of the sides unless it busted the (plastic) wheels, which is not hard to do really but would slow it down a bit. It was a safety wakeup call and the guy I was working for (late 50’s) said that was the first time he’d ever seen that happen (he’s been doing this for 15+ years) and that incident was enough to make him quit work early for the day, I myself didn’t really do much the rest of that day, but it was 3:30 or so, close enough to quit anyway. We just cleaned and picked up and quit work alittle early… no one was hurt but it was a close wakeup call. Like I said we hadn’t touched the blade, must have been loose already who knows.

BE CAREFUL!

[tiedeman]

Originally posted by Gene $immons
And now you know................The rest of the Story

LOL:D

[sildoc]

i like Paul. He has some good stories and keeps me laughin during my lunch break. Try not to mis him but I guess I misse this one.

[bigdaddyspags]

Paul Harvey also said Zanfel was a good product, what a load of crappe that was............