Blowing your lawn trimmings onto the road

[Dargo]

Personally, I've always made the first 3 passes or so with the mower chute discharging the clippings into the yard. When I had a mowing business I did so as well. It just makes for a much cleaner looking job. However, I constantly see people blowing their trimmings all over the road. I assume most people here have seen the same. If you're one who does so, you may want to change your ways.

Down the road a bit this guy only mows his lawn about every two weeks or so and just covers the little 2 lane road with his grass trimmings. He's done so for years. A couple of weeks ago I saw his wife out with a leaf blower blowing the trimmings back onto their lawn. Later I learned that a bad accident was caused when one car slowed for a dog in the road and a young girl in the next car skidded on the lawn trimmings and slammed into the back of the other car with both people badly injured. I'm told the homeowner is out on bail but will be charged with a crime, the level of which being determined by whether the one girl lives or not. If she dies, I'm told that he'll be charged with involuntary manslaughter for negligently creating an extremely dangerous situation on the roadway. At minimum he's going to have some criminal record and be out tens of thousands in attorney fees and have to live with knowing he severely injured two people just because he didn't care about making a roadway dangerous by covering it with his lawn trimmings.

I can't find anything online about it to post a link to, but I've asked several people and they all say that if you create a dangerous situation on a road, you are responsible. Covering the roadway with your grass trimmings is definitely considered creating a dangerous situation but it is rarely enforced until a tragedy occurs. If you're one who blows the trimmings on the road just think how you'd feel if you killed someone or, severely injured someone and ended up losing everything you own in law suits. I just thought I'd pass this story on and possibly prevent some accident, injury or arrest.

 

[EddieWalker]

Sad story. Sometimes I think we do things without realizing what might happen.

When I cut my grass along the road, I cut so that my clippings blow to the grass and away from the road. I never thought that the clippings might cause an accident, or make the road unsafe, I do it because I'm afraid that I might through a rock or piece of trash into oncoming traffic. I do it for safety, but never considered the actual clippings to be dangerous.

Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

I don't blow leaves or grass clippings onto the road, because when that stuff dries up and ultimately disappears, it didn't go into outer space -- the cars on the road break it up and turn it into dust.

I don't need a source of dust right next to my house.

 

[Thomas]

Last summer in our area gentlmen rounded corner on his motorcycle got in lawn clipping (alot) which was blown onto tar road..back tire of motorcycle broke traction and the rider hit hard,heard it cost home owner XX $$'s,but the kick is the homeowner had been warn in the past even when he snowblows the driveway.

 

[jinman]

Dargo, you said road, but I'm pretty sure you meant a paved street. I don't think gravel roads have any issue with grass clippings.

Back in the late '90s, I had occasion to attend several city council meetings in a fairly good sized city. They had a fellow there who was selling a machine to clean out storm sewer pipes. During the meeting, they discussed how sand got into the storm drains and street sweeping would help to prevent that. They also talked about people blowing grass clippings into the street and having them wash into the storm sewers. They mentioned that summer was a time where grass clippings tended to build up and start debris clogs. However, I don't think a darn thing was ever done about passing a city ordinance because guess who was the worst offenders when it came to having hired landscapers blowing trimmings around? Yep! The folks with the biggest houses and biggest lawns were also the members of the city council.

 

[dave1949]

Dargo, Thanks for that warning. I know wet leaves are very slippery, I never thought about grass clippings. Sad story.

Like Thomas said, some people around here think shoveling snow into the road is okay. Or plow drivers leave a bank of snow in the road rather than back up one more time and finish the job right. We have a small army of guys who plow private roads and driveways with pickups in this region.

Dave

 

[2manyrocks]

Good post. Now that you bring it up, I can see where grass clippings could be bad for motorcyclists in particular.

I try to blow mine back in the yard just because it looks better.

 

[dmccarty]

I have never heard of a case like this before. Interesting.

Back in the city I had a mulching mower. I had a raised bed right next to the road with just enough room for me to get the mower between the bed and road. The mower did not blow grass per say but some would get into the road.

I would blow or sweep the clipping back into my yard best as I could. Quite a few people just left the grass in the road and they did not have mulching mowers. The city I lived in is the hieght of snootyness. Hated the place. But as far as I know they did not have a rule prohibiting the grass in the road.

Later,
Dan

 

[tallyho8]

Most cities have an ordnance against sweeping or blowing grass and leaves into the street or storm drains. I still see many people sweeping piles of grass into storm drains and I guess they will be the first to complain when their home floods.

The worst offenders I see are lawn maintenance workers at fast food joints and govt workers on the medians.

 

[LBrown59]

Sad story. Sometimes I think we do things without realizing what might happen.

When I cut my grass along the road, I cut so that my clippings blow to the grass and away from the road. I never thought that the clippings might cause an accident, or make the road unsafe, I do it because I'm afraid that I might through a rock or piece of trash into oncoming traffic. I do it for safety, but never considered the actual clippings to be dangerous.

Eddie

I don't know as they are.
I don't really see it as a big issue .
The traffic wil blow them rite back off the road.

 

[Richard]

It's been 30 years since I lived in a situation where I'd be mowing right next to a paved road. I always made a couple rounds with the chute pointing inward.... not because I was concerned about any clippings on the road (who would have thought that 'back in the day'?)

Actually, my concern was for how 'rude' I felt it to be to be blowing the clippings towards the road and what if someone drove by such that I blew the clippings all over them?

My biggest fear was that bad moment when I'd hit a rock and it would fly out the mower, impaling their door and I'd get into trouble.

Simple fix was to merely blow inwards until I was in far enough to not worry.

 

[Western]

It's been 30 years since I lived in a situation where I'd be mowing right next to a paved road. I always made a couple rounds with the chute pointing inward.... not because I was concerned about any clippings on the road (who would have thought that 'back in the day'?)

Actually, my concern was for how 'rude' I felt it to be to be blowing the clippings towards the road and what if someone drove by such that I blew the clippings all over them?

My biggest fear was that bad moment when I'd hit a rock and it would fly out the mower, impaling their door and I'd get into trouble.

Simple fix was to merely blow inwards until I was in far enough to not worry.

Kinda been my thought too. I have a neighbor that mows his frontage 1-2 times a year, he blows so much on the road that you can barely see the opposite side of the road! It is amazing how many folks go through life with blinders on, as if they are the only ones in the world.

I do remember in the 60's during Fall, everyone raking huge piles of leaves to the curb and burning them.

 

[keegs]

In NJ it's common for municipalities to provide an annual leaf pickup service. Residents rake or blow leaves to the curb where they are collected, usually vacuumed and mulched into a large truck on a schedule, four or five times during the fall season. The leaf mulch is composted over winter and spring and made available to residents and landscapers in early summer.

The counties monitor the towns to make sure leaves aren't left curbside for an extended period. My understanding is that this is so that storm sewers don't get clogged up.

I've never heard of an accident being attributed to leaf collection but I imagine that it's likely happened.

 

[Dargo]

I don't know as they are.
I don't really see it as a big issue .
The traffic wil blow them rite back off the road.

It's really pretty easy. How about I bag 12 acres of lawn at my place and use a couple of dump trucks to spread it across the road for a half a mile or so in each direction where you live. When you slide off the road, because I created an unsafe condition on the road, I tell you that "I don't really see it as a big issue".

In almost every state it is illegal to create unsafe road conditions. Just ask any construction company that has dragged mud out onto a roadway and has been forced to clean their mess. The mud will eventually dry to dirt and just blow back off the road. What's the issue?

 

[Dargo]

I try to blow mine back in the yard just because it looks better.

I'll readily admit that was the sole reason I always did so when mowing commercially and why I never cover my own 1/4 mile concrete driveway with clippings. I'd never have paid for jobs if I covered people's driveways, roads and sidewalks with trimmings when doing it for a job. I don't think I need to comment about how it would look to cover you own driveway with trimmings.

It just cracks me up when I hear guys talking about how they can't keep grass from growing all through their gravel driveway when they blow their clippings all over their driveway each time they mow. I generally ask them if they know where grass comes from. That usually elicits a prompt "from grass seeds you moron!" To whit I simply respond by asking them if they have any idea where grass seeds come from. "Well, from grass you dumb twit" would be a common reply. Simply smiling I tell them that they are successful in seeding their driveway while constantly applying a nice supply of compost for nutrients as well.

But, the issue I wanted to bring to the surface with the thread is the very real danger created by blowing your trimmings out onto the roadway. I'd like to think nobody here would think "tough luck" if doing so killed someone or caused an accident. A sheriff I spoke with told me that they make dozens of accident runs each year that are caused from lawn waste making the roadway more slippery than it would be otherwise. The guy down the road from me literally has covered both lanes of a 2 lane blacktop road for about a half mile so badly that you couldn't even see the center lane markings for a couple of days after he mowed. I sincerely wish nobody had to endure severe injuries to get him to stop his practice, but it's going to cost him dearly. I assure you, if you cover the road with your trimmings and it causes an accident, there is no debate on the matter.

 

[RobS]

It's just sloppy to blow your trimmings on the road.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I live on an old farm along a two lane road and people blow their clippings on the road all the time. Must admit that when I mow along the edge of my property I mow "facing traffic" which blows clippings onto the road. I like to be able to see the traffic coming at me as people drive like maniacs on this road however I stop mowing if traffic is passing by. After saying all that I do take the blower and get the debris off the road.

 

[kthompson]

As the amount of clippings varies a lot I will quickly say LBrown is correct at times and others times or maybe other mowing jobs it is an issue. On our rural farm road the shoulders of the road always leave clippings on the road regardless of who mows it, state or individuals. Never have really seen a ton of grass clippings on a road. Boy that would be a lot.

Sometimes a discharge chute will make you turn it toward the road for clearance. The job that gets me is the leaf blowers especially in commercial districts blowing parking lot off onto road.

I am not throwing off in any manner with this comment but it is also the responsibility of any driver not to drive faster than they can safely see to drive safe. It could be a dog or fox and create just as dangerous situation.

I do agree it can be rude.

 

[RobertN]

My thoughts too.

I always thought it was just tacky.

Sometimes stuff just goes in the street. So clan it up. It looks better, and is just a nice courtesy.

We had a mom/pop yard service for a couple of years; I always made sure stuff was picked up. Not just blown back on the yard, but picked up. Otherwise, the day after the wind would blow, and the same stuff would be all over again.

It's been 30 years since I lived in a situation where I'd be mowing right next to a paved road. I always made a couple rounds with the chute pointing inward.... not because I was concerned about any clippings on the road (who would have thought that 'back in the day'?)

Actually, my concern was for how 'rude' I felt it to be to be blowing the clippings towards the road and what if someone drove by such that I blew the clippings all over them?

My biggest fear was that bad moment when I'd hit a rock and it would fly out the mower, impaling their door and I'd get into trouble.

Simple fix was to merely blow inwards until I was in far enough to not worry.

 

[Wis Bang]

In NJ it's common for municipalities to provide an annual leaf pickup service. Residents rake or blow leaves to the curb where they are collected, usually vacuumed and mulched into a large truck on a schedule, four or five times during the fall season. The leaf mulch is composted over winter and spring and made available to residents and landscapers in early summer.

The counties monitor the towns to make sure leaves aren't left curbside for an extended period. My understanding is that this is so that storm sewers don't get clogged up.

I've never heard of an accident being attributed to leaf collection but I imagine that it's likely happened.

That's how they do it in our township. A few years ago an early snowfall made a real mess of it too!

Now when they re-pave a street they are changing the catch basin casting to stop large trash from entering the storm drains. Instead of a 3" - 4" high opening in the curb there is a new piece w/ a small opening and/or a series of small holes so plastic drink bottles and similar trash won't get washed into the catch basin.