Every winter, millions of excited winter warriors pull out their snow blowers and get to work. And for the most part, they’ll be okay. But every now and then, you hear about an accident in the news involving a snow blower. It’ll probably be a 44-year-old male whose amputated the tips of his fingers; this is what happens 90% of the time. But if you’re careful and remember smart snow blower safety, you should be okay.

Preparing for a Safe Season

The easiest thing to do is get everything ready ahead of time. Read your Ariens or Toro snow blower manual, make sure your snow blower’s in good working order, and make sure your three-wire grounded system looks good.

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And this goes without saying, but make sure you don’t drink or do drugs before you take your snow blower to your driveway. No matter even if you’re using a Single Stage Toro Electric Start, a snow blower that only weighs 58lbs, the heart of a beast beats inside and can do serious damage.

While You’re Clearing Snow

Like driving a car, always be on the lookout for what’s in front of you, behind you, and on both sides. The last thing you want to be doing is running over the cord, the signed Denver Broncos football you forgot outside or, worst yet, a child.

If you do get the snow blower caught on something, turn it off and disengage the clutch. By cutting power to the machine that’s gotten snagged on something, you’ll be that much more able to check out what’s going on. But give yourself a five second count first to allow the the blades to stop spinning. If there’s compacted snow, use a broom handle to poke it loose. Even though you’ve turned the machine off, a blade can still rotate unexpectedly and possibly hurt you when your guard’s down.

Most Common Snow Blower Mishaps

The biggest cause of snow blower injuries is the impeller, a little piece of metal in the exit chute that spins really quickly. When snow overloads the chute, the impeller can stop. A curious snow blower will stop the machine, turn it off…and reach in to clear it. Broom stick. Reach it with a broom stick.

The most affected group of injured snow blower users are 44-year-old men, with the tip of their middle finger being amputated on their dominant hand (it’s the longest finger). After that, multiple amputations are next most common, followed by general amputations and avulsions.

This winter, Snow Blower Source wants you to be able to enjoy your Ariens or Toro snow blower, but we need you to be alive and uninjured. Just take a couple extra minutes to make sure you’ve got good snow blower safety going on and enjoy working the best snow blower on the planet.