•Besurealldrivesareinneutralandparkingbrake
isengagedbeforestartingengine.
•Starttheenginecarefullyaccordingtoinstructions
withfeetwellawayfromtheblades.
•Neveroperatethemowerwithdamagedguards,
shields,orcovers.Alwayshavesafetyshields,
guards,switchesandotherdevicesinplaceandin
properworkingcondition.
•Keepclearofthedischargeopeningatalltimes.
Nevermowwiththedischargedoorraised,
removedoralteredunlessthereisagrass
collectionsystemormulchkitinplaceandworking
properly.
•Keephandsandfeetawayfrommovingparts.
Ifpossible,DoNotmakeadjustmentswiththe
enginerunning.
WARNING
Hands,feet,hair,clothing,oraccessories
canbecomeentangledinrotatingparts.
Contactwiththerotatingpartscan
causetraumaticamputationorsevere
lacerations.
–DoNotoperatethemachinewithout
guards,shields,andsafetydevicesin
placeandworkingproperly.
–Keephands,feet,hair,jewelry,or
clothingawayfromrotatingparts.
•Neverraisethedeckwithbladesrunning.
•Beawareofthemowerdischargepathanddirect
dischargeawayfromothers.Avoiddischarging
materialagainstawallorobstructionasthe
materialmayricochetbacktowardtheoperator.
Stoptheblades,slowdown,andusecautionwhen
crossingsurfacesotherthangrassandwhen
transportingthemowertoandfromtheareatobe
mowed.
•Bealert,slowdownandusecautionwhen
makingturns.Lookbehindandtothesidebefore
changingdirections.DoNotmowinreverse
unlessabsolutelynecessary.
•DoNotchangetheenginegovernorsettingor
overspeedtheengine.
•Parkthemachineonlevelground.Stopengine,
waitforallmovingpartstostop,andremovethe
sparkplugwire(s).
–Beforechecking,cleaningorworkingonthe
mower.
–Afterstrikingaforeignobjectorabnormal
vibrationoccurs(inspectthemowerfor
damageandmakerepairsbeforerestarting
andoperatingthemower).
–Beforeclearingblockages.
–Wheneveryouleavethemower.DoNotleave
arunningmachineunattended.
•Stopengine,waitforallmovingpartstostop:
–Beforerefueling.
–Beforedumpingthegrasscatcher.
–Beforemakingheightadjustments.
•Tragicaccidentscanoccuriftheoperatorisnot
alerttothepresenceofchildren.Childrenare
oftenattractedtothemachineandthemowing
activity.Neverassumethatchildrenwillremain
whereyoulastsawthem.
–Keepchildrenoutofthemowingareaand
underthewatchfulcareofanotherresponsible
adult,nottheoperator.
–Bealertandturnthemachineoffifchildren
enterthearea.
–Beforeandwhilebackingorchangingdirection,
lookbehind,down,andside-to-sideforsmall
children.
–Neverallowchildrentooperatethemachine.
–DoNotcarrychildren,evenwiththeblades
shutoff.Childrencouldfalloffandbeseriously
injuredorinterferewiththesafeoperationof
themachine.Childrenthathavebeengiven
ridesinthepastcouldsuddenlyappearinthe
workingareaforanotherrideandberunover
orbackedoverbythemachine.
SlopeSafety
•Slopesareamajorfactorrelatedtolossofcontrol
androlloveraccidents,whichcanresultinsevere
injuryordeath.Theoperatorisresponsiblefor
safeslopeoperation.Operatingthemachineon
anysloperequiresextracaution.Beforeusingthe
machineonaslope,theoperatormust:
–Reviewandunderstandtheslopeinstructions
inthemanualandonthemachine.
–Useanangleindicatortodeterminethe
approximateslopeangleofthearea.
–Neveroperateonslopesgreaterthan15
degrees.
–Evaluatethesiteconditionsofthedayto
determineiftheslopeissafeformachine
operation.Usecommonsenseandgood
judgmentwhenperformingthisevaluation.
Changesintheterrain,suchasmoisture,can
quicklyaffecttheoperationofthemachineon
aslope.
•Identifyhazardsatthebaseoftheslope.Do
Notoperatethemachineneardropoffs,ditches,
embankments,waterorotherhazards.The
machinecouldsuddenlyrolloverifawheelgoes
overtheedgeortheedgecollapses.Keepasafe
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