A safety switch mechanism mounted on the handle of a power driven appliance such as a snow-thrower, lawn mower, garden tiller and the like having a motor or engine mounted thereon, the operator walking behind the appliance for holding a backwardly extending handle, the switch mechanism being adapted to short out or ground the electrical circuit of the motor or engine, or alternatively to open the contacts of a solenoid connected in series with the energizing circuit of an electric motor so as to stop the operation of the same upon the operator discontinuing to grasp the switch mechanism on the handle. This is an abstract only of the specific illustration of the invention given by way of example and is not to be used in the interpretation of the claims nor as a limitation on the scope of the invention.
