Dear Editor,
Please allow me space to highlight a serious concern and public hazard all of us face daily. Everywhere you turn there are men with brush cutters weeding parapets on the road side, in parks and housing areas. Editor, the maker of these machines made them with general safety instructions for users and public safety. One of them is that the deflector guard near the high-speed rotor must be in place at all times. This deflector was designed to reduce the risk of severe injuries caused by the blade coming into contact with bricks, broken bottles or pieces of metal etc. Let me say this, this high-speed rotor spins at a speed of 8,500rpm to 10,500rpm. Without the safety guard, these machines have the capacity to fling bricks, broken bottles or metal objects 300 feet and more with a force equivalent to a .32 warhead at speed.
Every person I saw operating these machines removed the safety guard from them. Every one of them can be regarded as a public hazard even though they perform an important task of weeding the parapets. There is absolutely no valid reason(s) for removing the safety guard. This is a breach of the manufacturer’s intended use and purpose. This breach is being allowed to happen for too long and must come to an end. Editor, I have suffered an injury from this machine to my neck once. I also have a crack on my truck windscreen. I have seen damage and injuries done frequently to others. All this could have been avoided if the safety guard was in place. I hope my letter catches the attention of who is responsible for regulating public safety and to implement measures to protect all from this public hazard.
Sincerely,
C. Woolford
