When it is approved to speed on site

Posted on 13/08/2023 21:36 by Lamplighter

Just returned from a club site where I had an argument with the warden reference speeding on site and being accused of doing over 5 mph although car speedometer showed 5 mph.  During this heated debate I mentioned to the warden that I had returned to site one afternoon to find him using his tractor mower to cut the grass on the adjacent pitch to mine.  Not being in a hurry I sat in my car on the road waiting for him to finish.  Please note site was all grass at this point.  During my wait I assessed that the warden was doing in well over the 5 mph limit and told him so.  I was therefore very surprised to be informed that it was accepted and approved by the Club for wardens to exceed the speed limit whilst cutting the grass as the mowers can only properly work at a minimum speed of 9 mph.  I expressed my surprise at this statement and said that it was obvious that the mowers where incorrectly specified for the job and that in my opinion they were more dangerous travelling at that speed than a car than a car travelling at 5mph due to the partially exposed wheels and the large cutting blade revolving under the tractor mower.  I also suspect that they do not have an NCAP rating as the majority of cars on site would have.  The warden explained to me that he is only allowed to cut the grass after he has carried out a full risk assessment to ensure that there would be no danger to children and site users and that he had been fully trained to observer all around him whilst carrying out this task.

I cannot see how any properly carried out risk assessment can determine that a tractor mower travelling at 10 mph with an operator concentrating on cutting grass rather than navigating the machine can be safer than a car travelling at 5 mph.  This would appear to be the Club imposing rules for one and not for their own employees.

Posted on 13/08/2023 21:36 by Lamplighter

Just returned from a club site where I had an argument with the warden reference speeding on site and being accused of doing over 5 mph although car speedometer showed 5 mph.  During this heated debate I mentioned to the warden that I had returned to site one afternoon to find him using his tractor mower to cut the grass on the adjacent pitch to mine.  Not being in a hurry I sat in my car on the road waiting for him to finish.  Please note site was all grass at this point.  During my wait I assessed that the warden was doing in well over the 5 mph limit and told him so.  I was therefore very surprised to be informed that it was accepted and approved by the Club for wardens to exceed the speed limit whilst cutting the grass as the mowers can only properly work at a minimum speed of 9 mph.  I expressed my surprise at this statement and said that it was obvious that the mowers where incorrectly specified for the job and that in my opinion they were more dangerous travelling at that speed than a car than a car travelling at 5mph due to the partially exposed wheels and the large cutting blade revolving under the tractor mower.  I also suspect that they do not have an NCAP rating as the majority of cars on site would have.  The warden explained to me that he is only allowed to cut the grass after he has carried out a full risk assessment to ensure that there would be no danger to children and site users and that he had been fully trained to observer all around him whilst carrying out this task.

I cannot see how any properly carried out risk assessment can determine that a tractor mower travelling at 10 mph with an operator concentrating on cutting grass rather than navigating the machine can be safer than a car travelling at 5 mph.  This would appear to be the Club imposing rules for one and not for their own employees.

Posted on 13/08/2023 23:06 by JollyKernow

Evening

So, not splitting hairs but all site ride on equipment is governed to 8mph. A staff member telling you he's been trained suggests to me that he's new to the role so he's probably forgotten that the slower the operation the better the finish. A lot goes in to get the correct tools suitable for each site. 

Interesting that you "assessed" he was speeding and "you told him so". Was that the same staff member you had a conversation with regarding your electric lead after you arrived who hadn't measured the pitches properly? Maybe he was having a joke with you in response?

I think it's best in this case as mentioned above and email enquiries@camc.com and title it with the site name, that should get you a response from the relevant regional manager..

JK