The Amputee Coalition has created a list of guidelines for lawn mower safety to avoid accidents to children and operators to prevent needless limb loss.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 800 children are run over each year by a lawn mower or small tractor and more than 600 of these accidents result in limb loss. Additionally, 75 people are killed and 20,000 are injured each year from lawn mower accidents. One in five lawn mower deaths involves a child and for children 10 years and younger, limb loss is commonly caused by lawn mowers.
“In 2015, we want to see the numbers of accidents greatly reduced by increasing public awareness of lawn mower safety,” Susan Stout, president and CEO of the Amputee Coalition stated in a press release. “Every spring, we hear the same stories on the news: People lose limbs from lawn mower accidents. Follow our simple safety rules and you can prevent these life-changing accidents.”
The Amputee Coalition encourages lawn mower users to keep children indoors while mowing the lawn; never allow children to play with lawn mower, even when it is turned off; never allow children to ride a lawn mower with an adult.
A full lawn mower safety checklist is available on the Amputee Coalition website.
Reference: www.amputee-coalition.org
