LAWNMOWER INJURIES INCREASE AS WEATHER WARMS UP

With the arrival of warmer weather and longer days comes an increase in Do-It-Yourself (DIY) injuries around the home and garden. The frequency and type of injuries are very much related to the time of year, according to statistics.The highest number of injuries in Australia occurs from November to April, when the weather is warmer and more time is spent in the garden. It is also more likely that a DIY injury will happen on a weekend.Statistics collected from various Victorian hospitals from 1988-1995 show that 80 per cent of DIY injuries occurred in a residential location, particularly in a victim's home garden (69 per cent). DIY injuries account for more than 500 hospital admissions annually in Victoria. Twenty-five per cent of injuries requiring emergency hospital treatment are for hand or finger injuries; eight per cent of these are due to lawnmowers. Lawnmowers are high on the list of DIY equipment that is potentially dangerous, and not only to the operator but also to bystanders, children and animals.One fifth of all lawnmower injuries involve children under 15, and more than a third are to children under five. In adults, males over the age of 20 are most at risk in this area.In the USA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reduced push mower injuries from 41,900 in 1983 to 25,800 in 1989 by introducing a regulation that required the blade to stop within three seconds of the operator leaving the controls. Currently, there is no such regulation in Australia, nor is it compulsory for manufacturers to conduct safety testing on their mowers. It was with these issues in mind that Honda Power Equipment developed the Honda Rotostop blade brake technology known as Blade Brake Clutch (BBC). The HRU216M1 Buffalo Classic is the first of the Honda range of lawnmowers for the Australian public with BBC technology that stops the mower blades within three seconds of the operator releasing the handle.

According to Honda Power Equipment Sales Manager, Ray Briffa, this feature has been used in Honda lawnmowers in the USA for some time, and has proven successful in preventing lawnmower injuries. "Although this safety standard is not mandatory in Australia, we have incorporated the technology into the new HRU216M1 mower to protect operators, bystanders, children and pets," Mr Briffa said. "We appreciate the dangers and risks involved with the use of any mechanical equipment, particularly lawnmowers. Honda is constantly working to improve the inherent safety features of all our power equipment."

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