Walk-behind mower with operator presence control

A walk-behind mower, comprising:

• a chassis;
• a tractive element coupled to the chassis;
• a cutting element rotatably coupled to the chassis;
• a motor coupled to the chassis and configured to drive at least one of the tractive element or the cutting element;
• a handle assembly extending upward from the chassis, the handle assembly including a handle body and a grip extending outward from the handle body, and the handle body defining an internal volume;
• a bail arm pivotably coupled to the handle body and extending within the internal volume of the handle body;
• a bail arm sensor coupled to the bail arm and positioned within the internal volume of the handle body, wherein the bail arm sensor is configured to provide a signal indicating a rotational position of the bail arm;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to the motor and the bail arm sensor and configured to vary a speed of the motor based on the signal from the bail arm sensor.

A walk-behind mower, comprising:

• a chassis;
• a tractive element coupled to the chassis;
• a cutting element rotatably coupled to the chassis;
• a motor coupled to the chassis and configured to drive at least one of the tractive element or the cutting element;
• a handle assembly extending upward from the chassis;
• a bail arm pivotably coupled to the handle assembly and rotatable about an axis of rotation between an engaged position and a disengaged position;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to the motor and configured to increase a speed of the motor in response to the bail arm moving from the disengaged position to the engaged position,
• wherein an axial position of the bail arm along the axis of rotation remains constant as the bail arm moves between the engaged position and the disengaged position.