In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

In the next bed was a man who had destroyed a toe on one foot and a
lot of the flesh on the opposite shin. He had slipped on a sloping
lawn, using a Flymo and slid his legs under the blade.
General anaesthetic and foreign holiday cancelled.

Friend of mine who is a Gardener at RHS Wisley told me that all the Grass
Cutting Gang there have no leather left on the toes of their steel toecap
boots! Yet I constantly see people using mowers and wearing sandals, can't
look, makes me feel sick. One slip or moments inattention and you are
possibly crippled for life, certainly in a lot of pain for some
weeks/months.

Actually, no. That's dogma, with a grain of truth. The first thing
that most people refuse to admit is that lightweight shoes like
'trainers' offer negligible protection, yet they are often allowed
or encouraged (because they are 'closed toe').

More importantly, it depends on the design of mower and conditions.
In over 30 years, I have never once even got my foot under a mower,
because they have had rear grass boxes and I am mowing on the flat.
I would mow in bare feet, safely, if it were not for my wife! Not
the usual reason, though .... I got so twitchy at her running the
mower close to and even slightly over her trainers that I insisted
that she wears boots - and she won't do so if I don't.

HOWEVER, I wear sandals or bare feet most of the time, and so am
accustomed to taking appropriate care. 90% of the people who have
trouble are either relying on their 'protection' and not taking care,
or have (exceptionally) worn sandals or bare feet and not changed
their behaviour from wearing beetlecrushers. For example, people
who put a fork through their foot will almost certainly be wearing
boots and relying on them to protect their feet.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.