scope:

The safety specifications given in this standard are for powered

(a) reel and rotary pedestrian-controlled lawn mowers,

(b) reel and rotary ride-on lawn mowers,

(c) ride-on lawn tractors with mower attachments,

(d) ride-on lawn and garden tractors with mower attachments, and

(e) lever-steer and zero-turn ride-on mowers.

These specifications are intended to provide safety requirements and to help ensure uniform operator environments. They are intended to apply to products specifically intended as consumer products for the personal use of a consumer around a house. These specifications are not intended to apply to commercial products customarily used by hired operators or to products designed primarily for agricultural purposes such as defined in SAE J1116. They are not intended to cover sulky-type units, pedestriancontrolled tractors, flail mowers or sickle bar mowers, and are not intended to completely cover electrical requirements. This standard applies to all aftermarket parts, attachments and accessories. Any manufacturer of aftermarket parts, attachments and accessories is responsible for ensuring compliance to this standard. Safety specifications in this standard apply only to a configuration of attachments/implements/accessories approved by their respective manufacturers.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has promulgated a mandatory standard relating to certain aspects of pedestrian-controlled power lawn mower operations (SAFETY STANDARD FOR WALK-BEHIND POWER LAWN MOWERS, CPSC 16 CFR PART1205). A copy of the CPSC mandatory standard is contained in Annex C. The CPSC standard contains requirements for products sold in the US by manufacturers of consumer pedestrian-controlled lawn mowers that meet any of the following criteria:

a) Cutting width between 305 mm (12 inches) and 762 mm (30 inches)

b) Mass less than 90.7 kg (200 pounds)

c) Engine horsepower less than 6 kW (8 hp).

The effective implementation date of this standard shall be two (2) years after the publication date and shall apply to all products built after that date. Manufacturers may also comply with the requirements of this standard any time after the publication date.