Ride-on mowing machines can lead to serious accidents. This was proved yet again, when about one year back an employee of Cheltenham Borough Council fell from a ride-on mowing machine and received serious injuries. He was mowing grass in a park when he fell on a bench, which left him severely injured with broken ribs and a compressed lung. He was unable to work for close to three months after the accident.
The HSE prosecuted the Council for infringement of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and Regulation 3(1) (a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The Council admitted its liability before the court.
The HSE stated before the court that the Council had not assessed the risk involved in using ride-on mowing machines. The area on which the machine was being used was very steep. In spite of such mishaps happening earlier, the Council did not even instruct the employee to be careful, let alone training him to handle the machine properly.
As a result, the court held the Council liable and ordered it to pay a fine of £14,000 and costs of £18,530.31. In addition, the injured employee was awarded a compensation of £3,000.
The HSE stated that the incident could have been much worse, and that the employee was lucky to have escaped death. It also reported that in seven years, between 2001 and 2008, mowing machines have caused 33 serious injuries and 3 fatalities.
Alison Fry, an inspector with the HSE, said that the Council could have easily avoided such an accident. All it had to do was to assess the risk according to the area of the machine’s use and choose the machine accordingly. Besides, it should have trained its employees in the usage of such machines.
The HSE is trying to explain to employers the need for safety while using such machines. Click on IOSH Training, for information on courses for companies to help improve their health and safety management system by teaching them to identify and implement appropriate workplace precautions for specific risks or seek advice on workplace precautions.
