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Toro is adding standard Rollover Protection Systems to its line of Z Master commercial zero-turn radius mowers. Most of the manufacturer’s riding mowers soon will sport a functional, two-post ROPS with a convenient hinge point for increased maneuverability and clearance when loading and unloading the equipment from trailers.
“Since we already provide standard ROPS on several commercial mowers, it makes perfect sense to do the same with the TORO Z Masters,” recalled Brad Hamilton, director of marketing for Toro’s landscape contractor business.
Although this feature is will not be seen until the latest models are released in a few months, the addition has been a top Toro priority for months.
“We actually began our commercial Z mower safety campaign last November at GIE,” Hamilton recalled. “The addition of ROPS is a continuation of that initiative, and physically goes into production on our Toro Z mowers with model year 2004 production, which begins this summer.”
Last summer, Toro and other industry names recognized the need for increased safety among users of commercial zero-turn mowers. Particularly, users must beware when mowing near blunt drop-offs, steep inclines, retaining walls or unstable ground around ponds or drainage ditches, Hamilton observed. Such unsafe mowing “can cause loss of traction and control and can result in serious injuries or fatalities.”
Toro’s ROPS step toward mower safety is one the Bloomington, Minn.–based manufacturer believes will set a trend among others in the industry.
“Safety is important to everyone in the industry, including equipment operators, landscape company owners, equipment dealers and manufacturers,” Hamilton noted. “And since ROPS is already available as optional equipment from most manufacturers, we believe more manufacturers will put ROPS on standard in the near future.”
There are no statistics available to accurately quantify the rollerover problem posed by mowers. However, Toro knows through experience “that equipment accidents can occur when the equipment is operated improperly, and we want to be pro-active in our approach to ensuring operator safety,” Hamilton asserted.
Toro expects the reaction from contractors to be positive as well.
The author is Assistant Editor-Internet of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at aanderson@lawnandlandscape.com.