WARNING
Hands,feet,hair,clothing,oraccessories
canbecomeentangledinrotatingparts.
Contactwiththerotatingpartscan
causetraumaticamputationorsevere
lacerations.
–DoNotoperatethemachinewithout
guards,shields,andsafetydevicesin
placeandworkingproperly.
–Keephands,feet,hair,jewelry,or
clothingawayfromrotatingparts.
•Beawareofthedischargepathanddirect
dischargeawayfromothers.Avoiddischarging
materialagainstawallorobstructionasthe
materialmayricochetbacktowardtheoperator.
Raisethetines,slowdown,andusecautionwhen
crossingsurfacesotherthangrassandwhen
transportingthemachinetoandfromthework
area.
•Bealert,slowdownandusecautionwhenmaking
turns.Lookbehindandtothesidebeforechanging
directions.DoNotoperateinreverseunless
absolutelynecessary.
•DoNotchangetheenginegovernorsettingor
overspeedtheengine.
•Parkthemachineonlevelground.Stopengine,
waitforallmovingpartstostop,andremovethe
sparkplugwire(s).
–Beforechecking,cleaningorworkingonthe
machine.
–Afterstrikingaforeignobjectorabnormal
vibrationoccurs(inspectthemachinefor
damageandmakerepairsbeforerestarting
andoperatingthemachine).
–Beforeclearingblockages.
–Wheneveryouleavethemachine.DoNot
leavearunningmachineunattended.
•Stopengine,waitforallmovingpartstostop:
–Beforerefueling.
•Tragicaccidentscanoccuriftheoperatorisnot
alerttothepresenceofchildren.Childrenare
oftenattractedtothemachineandtheworking
activity.Neverassumethatchildrenwillremain
whereyoulastsawthem.
–Keepchildrenoutoftheworkingareaand
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.
–Evaluatethesiteconditionsofthedayto
determineiftheslopeissafeformachine
operation.Usecommonsenseandgood
judgmentwhenperformingthisevaluation.
Changesintheterrain,suchasmoisture,can
quicklyaffecttheoperationofthemachineon
aslope.
•Operateacrossslopes,neverupanddown.Avoid
operationonexcessivelysteeporwetslopes.
•Identifyhazardsatthebaseoftheslope.Do
notoperatethemachineneardropoffs,ditches,
embankments,waterorotherhazards.The
machinecouldsuddenlyrolloverifawheelgoes
overtheedgeortheedgecollapses.Keepasafe
distance(twicethewidthofthemachine)between
themachineandanyhazard.Useawalkbehind
machineorahandheldtooltooperateinthese
areas.
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