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You've just finished the perfect weekend mow, and a neat line of fresh green grass is sitting right along the edge of your driveway. Naturally, you reach for the leaf blower to sweep those stray blades out into the street and out of sight. Before you pull the trigger, though, you might want to turn that nozzle around. Blowing clippings onto the road might not feel like it's one of the major mistakes everyone makes when mowing the lawn. But what feels like a harmless, routine yard cleanup habit is actually illegal in many municipalities across the country. Sending your lawn debris onto public roads poses a surprisingly severe safety hazard, which is why it might leave you with a hefty fine.
While there is no blanket federal law against it, blowing grass clippings into the street is heavily restricted or outright banned at state, county, or municipal levels across most of the United States. Some states like Florida leave the rules entirely up to local county and city ordinances, but other states — like New York – have direct laws that classify grass clippings on a highway as a clear-cut traffic violation.
Depending on where you live, you can get cited under a few different laws if you've been caught sweeping your lawn waste onto the pavement. In states like New York, it's a direct violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law. Additionally, municipalities that operate under federal clean water rules often have strict ordinances banning the discharge of anything that isn't clean stormwater into drains. Finally, if you blow grass into the road and it causes a motorcyclist or bicyclist to crash, you can be held liable in a civil lawsuit for their injuries and property damage.
Read more: 12 Old-School Gardening Habits It's Time To Let Go Of
Why you shouldn't blow grass into the road
While it seems like a harmless way to tidy up, this common yard habit can cause unexpected safety hazards. Grass clippings are about 85% water. When fresh, moisture-rich clippings land on asphalt, their high water content and natural plant oils create an incredibly slick, greasy layer on the road. Even after they dry out, they disturb the natural texture of the road, which is especially a problem for cyclists.
Beyond the obvious safety concerns, grass clippings in the street can cause major headaches for local infrastructure. Rain washes the loose clippings into the storm sewers. Eventually, these clippings collect and rot, clogging the storm drains, causing street flooding during heavy downpours. Grass clippings are also packed with nitrogen and phosphorus (especially if the lawn has been treated with fertilizer). When they wash into local waterways, they can trigger rapid algae blooms that deplete oxygen in the water, killing off fish and ruining local ecosystems.
To help stay on the right side of the law (and keep others safe), you should familiarize yourself with the best methods for mowing your lawn more efficiently. When mowing the outer edges of your yard, make your first two passes with the mower's discharge chute pointed inward, toward your lawn, rather than out toward the curb. If any clippings do stray onto the pavement or sidewalk, take a quick minute to blow or sweep them back onto your grass. Besides, there are plenty of other reasons why you should start leaving grass clippings on your lawn after mowing.
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