437-004-2240 Power Lawnmowers (1) General requirements. (a) Powered walk-behind, riding-rotary and reel lawnmowers designed for sale to the general public must meet the design specifications in “American National Standard Safety Specifications for Power Lawnmowers” ANSI/OPEI B71.1-1996. These specifications do not apply to a walk-behind mower converted to a riding mower by the addition of a sulky. Also, these specifications do not apply to flail mowers, sickle bar mowers or mowers designed for commercial use. (b) Guard or place all power-driven chains, belts and gears to prevent accidental contact with the operator, during normal starting, mounting and operation of the machine. (c) There must be a shutoff device to stop the motor or engine. It must require manual and intentional reactivation to restart the motor or engine. (d) Clearly mark all positions of the operating controls. (e) The phrase, “Caution. Be sure the operating control(s) is in neutral before starting the engine,” or similar wording must be clearly visible at an engine starting control point on self-propelled mowers. (2) Walk-behind and riding rotary mowers. (a) Enclose the mower blade except on the bottom. The enclosure must extend to or below the lowest cutting point of the blade in the lowest blade position. (b) There must be instructions near the opening warning not to use the mower without either the catcher assembly or the guard in place. This does not apply to side discharge mowers or those with a mulching plug in place. (c) Properly and completely installed catcher assemblies must not create a hazard. (d) The word “Caution,” or stronger wording, must be on the mower at or near each discharge opening. (e) Blade(s) must stop from the manufacturer’s specified maximum speed within 15 seconds after declutching or shutting off power. (3) Walk-behind rotary mowers. (a) The horizontal angle of the grass discharge opening(s) in the blade enclosure, must not direct discharge toward the operator area. (b) There must be one of the following at all openings in the blade enclosure intended for the discharge of grass: (A) A minimum unobstructed horizontal distance of 3 inches from the end of the discharge chute to the blade tip circle. (B) A rigid bar fastened across the discharge opening, secured to prevent removal without the use of tools. The bottom of the bar must be no higher than the bottom edge of the blade enclosure. (c) Keep the handle attached to the mower to prevent loss of control by unintentional uncoupling while the engine is running. (d) There must be a positive upstop or latch for the handle in the normal operating position(s). The upstop must not be subject to unintentional disengagement when using the mower. The upstop or latch must not allow the center or the handle grips to come closer than 17 inches horizontally behind the closest path of the mower blade(s) unless manually disengaged. (e) A swing-over handle, that complies with the above requirements, is acceptable. (f) Wheel drive disengaging controls, except deadman controls, must move opposite to the direction of the vehicle motion in order to disengage the drive. Deadman controls must automatically interrupt power to a drive when the operator lets go and may operate in any direction to disengage the drive. (4) Riding rotary mowers. (a) Opening(s) must not allow grass or debris to discharge directly toward any part of an operator seated in a normal operator position. (b) One of the following must be at all grass discharge openings in the blade enclosure: (A) A minimum unobstructed horizontal distance of 6 inches from the end of the discharge chute to the blade tip circle. (B) A rigid bar fastened across the discharge opening, secured to prevent removal without the use of tools. The bottom of the bar must be no higher than the bottom edge of the blade enclosure. (c) Mowers must have stops to prevent jackknifing or locking of the steering. (d) Mowers must have working brakes or a manufacturer designed system for stopping. (e) Hand-operated wheel drive disengaging controls must move opposite to the direction of vehicle motion to disengage the drive. Foot-operated wheel drive disengaging controls must be depressed to disengage the drive. Deadman controls, both hand and foot operated, must automatically interrupt power to a drive when the operator removes the actuating force and may operate in any direction to disengage the drive. [Publications: Publications referenced are available from the agency.] Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 654.025(2) & 656.726(3) Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 654.001 - 654.295 History: OSHA 4-1998, f. 8-28-98, cert. ef. 10-1-98