Dangerous Lawnmowers and Injuries to Kids
The lawnmower manufacturing industry and the companies that sell riding lawnmowers have a secret they are not sharing with the public. A secret that the lawnmower industry and the companies that sell riding lawnmowers like Home Depot, KMart, Sears, and Wal-Mart don't want the public to know even though they have known about the secret for years.
The secret is many riding lawnmowers do not have adequate safety features to protect young children from severe injury and death. Some riding lawnmowers are extremely dangerous and have been the caused thousands of severe injuries to children. In fact, some riding lawnmowers have even been responsible for the death of children in lawnmower-related accidents.
In February 2006, for example, the Journal of Pediatrics, a well-respected national publication published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, published a landmark study entitled "Technical Report: Lawn Mower-Related Injuries to Children."
The article can be found online by clicking here.
The study surveys lawnmower-related injuries to children, compiles some pretty horrifying statistics, and offers recommendations to the lawnmower industry.
Among other things noted in the article: 1. Approximately 9400 children younger than 18 years of age receive emergency treatment every year for lawnmower-related injuries;
2. 7% of these children require hospitalization
3. Power mowers account for a large proportion of the amputations during childhood;
4. Prevention of these injuries can be achieved by design changes of lawn mowers and more education of parents;
From 1990 - 1999, 68,000 injuries related to lawnmowers were recorded. 14% were to children 18 and under.
The article has a section entitled "Prevention of Injury" in which specific recommendations are made to prevent lawnmower-related injuries to children.
The article recommends the following:
1. Design changes in lawnmowers;
2. appropriate age and maturity guidelines for mower operation; and
3. education of parents, other child caregivers, and children regarding the hazards associated with lawn mowers.
Note that the number one recommendation is design change in lawnmowers. It is also clearly the safest, quickest, and most cost-effective method to prevent lawnmower-related accidents and injuries.
According to the article, the "science of injury prevention" recognizes that the most effective way to protect against injury is by using methods that do not require a lot of human intervention and vigilence.
Many of the lawnmower manufacturers have known about basic, simple, cost-effective safety mechanisms that they could have and should have installed on their lawnmowers for decades and yet have refused to do so. In fact, some manufacturers have actively fought government efforts to improve the safety features on these mowers.
The article concludes by recommending that the ANSI standards for riding lawnmower safety mechanisms be strengthened and, if the industry does not agree, to mandate the safety features.
The secret is many riding lawnmowers do not have adequate safety features to protect young children from severe injury and death. Some riding lawnmowers are extremely dangerous and have been the caused thousands of severe injuries to children. In fact, some riding lawnmowers have even been responsible for the death of children in lawnmower-related accidents.
In February 2006, for example, the Journal of Pediatrics, a well-respected national publication published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, published a landmark study entitled "Technical Report: Lawn Mower-Related Injuries to Children."
The article can be found online by clicking here.
The study surveys lawnmower-related injuries to children, compiles some pretty horrifying statistics, and offers recommendations to the lawnmower industry.
Among other things noted in the article: 1. Approximately 9400 children younger than 18 years of age receive emergency treatment every year for lawnmower-related injuries;
2. 7% of these children require hospitalization
3. Power mowers account for a large proportion of the amputations during childhood;
4. Prevention of these injuries can be achieved by design changes of lawn mowers and more education of parents;
From 1990 - 1999, 68,000 injuries related to lawnmowers were recorded. 14% were to children 18 and under.
The article has a section entitled "Prevention of Injury" in which specific recommendations are made to prevent lawnmower-related injuries to children.
The article recommends the following:
1. Design changes in lawnmowers;
2. appropriate age and maturity guidelines for mower operation; and
3. education of parents, other child caregivers, and children regarding the hazards associated with lawn mowers.
Note that the number one recommendation is design change in lawnmowers. It is also clearly the safest, quickest, and most cost-effective method to prevent lawnmower-related accidents and injuries.
According to the article, the "science of injury prevention" recognizes that the most effective way to protect against injury is by using methods that do not require a lot of human intervention and vigilence.
Many of the lawnmower manufacturers have known about basic, simple, cost-effective safety mechanisms that they could have and should have installed on their lawnmowers for decades and yet have refused to do so. In fact, some manufacturers have actively fought government efforts to improve the safety features on these mowers.
The article concludes by recommending that the ANSI standards for riding lawnmower safety mechanisms be strengthened and, if the industry does not agree, to mandate the safety features.
