Yazoo Manufacturing Co. Initiates Safety Modification Program For Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers

June 9, 1992 Release # 92-095 PRODUCT: Yazoo "high wheel" gasoline powered walk-behind lawn mowers, manufactured and purchased since June 1982. The mowers were sold through retailers in the southern, southeastern, and northeastern United States. PROBLEM: The mowers were intended for commercial use and were not equipped with a blade control device. As a result, consumers who may have purchased the mowers may be injured from contact with the rotating mower blade. WHAT TO DO: Yazoo is no longer in the mower business. Repairs are no longer available. Consumers should not use the product. WASHINGTON, DC -- As the summer lawn mowing season swings into gear, Yazoo Manufacturing Company, Jackson, MS, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), is again announcing a safety modification program for certain models of its commercial "high wheel" gasoline powered walk-behind lawn mowers purchased by consumers since June 1982. The safety modification program was originally announced in a December 1991 press release. These lawn mowers are not equipped with a blade control device that stops the blade within three seconds after release of the controls, as required for consumer mowers by CPSC's Safety Standard for Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers. As a result, consumers may be injured from contact with the rotating mower blade. The lawn mowers were manufactured beginning in 1982 and involve the following push and self-propelled big wheel models: S22B, P22B, P22W, S22W, S24B, P24B, P24W, S24W, S26B and S26W. The mowers are labeled with a bright yellow decal that states: "NOTICE. THIS MOWER DOES NOT MEET CPSC SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. COMMERCIAL USE ONLY." These mowers have a suggested retail price of between $750.00 and $900.00 and were sold to retailers in the southern, southeastern and northeastern United States. Although the lawn mowers were intended for sale to commercial operators, Yazoo and CPSC are concerned that a number of mowers have been purchased by consumers