A return to neutral mechanism (10) for a dual hydrostatic transmission includes a plurality of return to neutral control arms (41, 42, 51, 52), each return to neutral control arm (41, 42, 51, 52) biased toward a neutral position. Each return to neutral control arm (41, 42, 51, 52) moves in response to forward or reverse movement of an operator control (76, 78), such as a stick or foot pedal. Additionally, switches (61, 62) are mounted to the return to neutral control arms (41, 42, 51, 52). The switches (61, 62) enable starting of the engine if every return to neutral control arm (41, 42, 51, 52) is in a neutral position, and disable starting of the engine if at least one return to neutral control arm (41, 42, 51, 52) is out of the neutral position.