Lawn Mowers More Dangerous Than Thought

M. Brandon Smith

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In a recent study, lawn mowers were found to injure more than 9,000 children and teenagers a year in the United States alone. The study further shows the current standards for lawn mowers are inadequate and suggests that most of these injuries could be prevented by employing a few simple guidelines changes.

According to Cbsnews.com:

In the study, published in Pediatrics, researchers David Vollman, B.S., and Gary A. Smith, M.D., Dr. PH., from Ohio State University estimated the number of injuries caused by lawn mowers in children under age 20 from 1990 to 2004 using information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

During the 15-year study period, there were an estimated 140,700 lawn mower-related injuries attributed to children treated in hospital emergency rooms -- which equates to about 9,400 injuries per year, or just more than 11 injuries per 100,000 children per year in the United States.

Researchers say "passive" protection provided by improvements in lawn mower safety design is the best strategy to prevent lawn-mower-related injuries in children, and current safety features are not adequate.

If these numbers surprise you, you are not alone. The numbers representing lawn mower related injuries have gone relatively unnoticed by most consumers for many years. Hopefully this study will get the attention of lawn mower manufactures everywhere and ultimately promote the safety measures our children and teenagers so desperately deserve.