After the constant downpours of April, the calendar has moved in to May which is the beginning of the grass cutting season countywide. This time of year, the lawns and yards of Scott County come to life with the sounds of lawn mowers, trimmers and blowers accompanied by the unmistakable smell of freshly cut grass. The seemingly never-ending cutting season will last until it ends depending on the late summer and fall weather of the local area.
During these many months of cutting there is a collateral danger that is created for motorists traveling the local roadways, and that is the threat of freshly cut grass clippings covering the road. This practice is dangerous and can be illegal. This situation can be easily avoided by area residents simply taking the time to make sure their grass clippings do not end up in the roadways.
When grass clippings are covering any roadway it becomes dangerous for motorcycles and possibly cars. When the discarded grass is in a curve, or immediately after a curve, the danger is far greater especially for motorcyclist. Grass clippings are majority water, so when tires from a car or motorcycle have clippings between them and the roadway, things can get out of control pretty quick. Anytime a vehicle loses traction, no matter if it has two wheels or four wheels, the end result can be either dangerous or deadly.
For motorcycle riders grass on the roadway is one of the biggest dangers they are concerned about when riding. Area resident and avid motorcyclist Bruce Warren knows the dangers of clippings on the highway all to well. On April 17, Warren was traveling Highway 35 when he came out of a curve and encountered the road covered with grass clippings.
“On Hwy 35 I came out of a curve and there was grass covering almost the entire road,” he said. “I hit the grass and immediately felt my bike sliding so I tried to correct one way and then the other, but I finally had no choice but to lay the bike down and we both skidded to a stop on the side of the road.”
Warren escaped this situation with only minor injuries, but this could have been much worse. “What if there would have been a car traveling in the oncoming lane when this happened? I would not have had a chance in a situation like that.” Warren said.
There is a law in the Mississippi Code that prohibits throwing “any solid waste” or “litter” on a roadway or thoroughfare, but this law is seldomly enforced for those who litter out of moving vehicles, and practically never cited against residents that blow their grass clippings into the roadway. This makes for dangerous situations for motorist, and especially motorcycle riders almost every day.
“I have been riding for 10 years and for a long time I never had any problems with coming across grass thrown on the road,” Warren said. “The last three years this has been a problem that has only gotten worse every year. Now it is something everyone that rides talks about often.”
Warren believes that many of the people may not understand the dangers of covering the highway with their discarded lawn clippings, and would like for people to just take a moment to think about the dangers associated with these actions. “These days when I top a hill, or come around a curve, and see grass covering the road ahead all I can do is let off the gas, hold on and pray,” he said.
Warren believes that the best solution is for residents that are cutting their grass to be aware of the immenent danger created if they blow clippings onto the roadway. “I would just like for everyone to know just how dangerous this can be, and just think about what they are doing before covering any roadway with grass clippings.”
There is a simple solution to this problem. It’s easy to prevent the clippings from flying into the street while cutting grass, cut so that the discharge chute is aimed back at the yard and these situations can be easily avoided.
