©
By Marc Davis
The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH
Lester Palmer was driving to Wal-Mart when the passenger-side window of his Ford Aerostar minivan suddenly exploded. Glass sprayed all over his teenage daughter's hair and face.
It was the city lawn-mowing crew on Princess Anne Road. A mower had spit out a rock and busted Palmer's window.
"I didn't see any signs," Palmer recalled. "If I had, I would have pulled into the far lane."
Every year, city mowing crews in Virginia Beach accidentally break dozens of windows, mostly in cars, but sometimes in schools and other buildings.
When that happens, the city pays. For Palmer's window, broken in 2002, the city paid $2,306, according to city records. It was an unusually large amount, but the circumstances were typical.
From 2004 to 2006, Virginia Beach paid claims for 166 lawn-mowing accidents. Payments ranged from $49.95 to Palmer's $2,306, according to a database of Virginia Beach claims payments.
Over the three years, the city paid at least $63,000 for lawn-mowing accidents. Last year alone, 60 broken windows were reported.
In one unusual case last year, an employee was mowing tall grass behind a school when the mower kicked up a golf ball, which sailed through a house window. In another case last year, a trimmer spit out a rock that shattered a front window at Alanton Elementary School.
"It's a problem," said Eddie Barnes, the city's administrator for parks and landscape services. "I wish we could think of something that would reduce the number of claims."
The city's policy is to keep guards on the mowers to prevent rocks from flying, but, Barnes acknowledged, "sometimes there's a tendency to remove them to expedite the work."
It's equally tricky with trimmers. Sometimes city workers can stop work as cars pass, but sometimes they can't. They are taught to cut at an angle to minimize kicking up rocks, "but it's not easy," Barnes said.
Also, mowing crews try to work around public buildings in the early morning, when traffic is lighter. And they often work at the Municipal Center, with its huge parking lots and hundreds of cars, on weekends.
"Our goal, of course, is always zero," Barnes said. "But it's the nature of the work."
Marc Davis, (757) 222-5131, marc.davis@pilotonline.com
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been there
I called the city a number of yrs ago. I was standing outside my office and one of the tractors drove by with mowers folded up. The blades were still spinning on this particular one, and a rock struck the building not 2 feet from where i was standing. I called the city to tell them what was transpiring, and the woman got an attitude until I told her that I just wanted to report it as a safety concern. That was in the late 90s. What do you do though? Gotta mow.
Nothing much you can do
There really isn't much you can do in this situation. Accidents happen. Unless you the city invest in lawnmowers with the bags attached (if they haven't already). Even then, there will still be the occasional loose rock or debris being spit out from the sides.
New policy: you're fired!
I can't believe this: "The city's policy is to keep guards on the mowers to prevent rocks from flying, but, Barnes acknowledged, "sometimes there's a tendency to remove them to expedite the work." New policy: "anyone removing guards to expedite work will be fired. No warnings. Period". We have to start getting tough with employees who break rules, and in the process put people's well-being in jeopardy.
Aerostar window
The vehicle isn't worth $2306 let alone the passenger side glass. Who has oversight of these payments ?