Out of control power trowel - GIF

[desbromilow]

so if I ever am in the position of seeing this, WHAT is the method I should use to stop a trowelling machine/ get it under control?
I am thinking broom or lasso to catch handle, then seize handle and control machine to stop it? or is there another better technique?

Yes I understand the "how it should work".. but let's face facts, we are the kind of people who may drive past this type of event, and would probably want to help stop the carnage. - so how ...

[mklotz]

so if I ever am in the position of seeing this, WHAT is the method I should use to stop a trowelling machine/ get it under control?
I am thinking broom or lasso to catch handle, then seize handle and control machine to stop it? or is there another better technique?

Yes I understand the "how it should work".. but let's face facts, we are the kind of people who may drive past this type of event, and would probably want to help stop the carnage. - so how ...

Designing a tool to capture it would probably be fairly easy. The more important question is how to stop it with whatever material is to hand.

A better question is how to prevent runaways in the first place.

Many places require someone operating an outboard motor powered watercraft to have a wrist lanyard attached to a kill switch on the engine so if he falls overboard the boat can't come around and slice and dice him. Perhaps that would be a good idea for this and similar tools.