Amid the week’s news comes the story of a businessman who decided not to do something he had every right to do.

It is perhaps a sad commentary on civic life that a small act of personal responsibility by Donald Gregory, who is voluntarily giving up his Oak Bluffs license to rent mopeds, should generate an outpouring of appreciation.

But these days Island news is more often filled with people who push to the outer limits of the law, who won’t take action until forced, who rail against regulation designed to protect the public good.

Despite widespread agreement that mopeds pose a menace to safety, efforts to ban them on the Vineyard have been repeatedly stymied by legal obstacles. Because Massachusetts allows mopeds on public roads, the courts have ruled, Island towns cannot bar them as rentals.

Mr. Gregory, whose business Sun ‘N’ Fun is one of four moped rental agencies on the Island, said he was moved by the death of an employee in a moped collision two years ago. In exchange for giving up forty moped rental licenses, he will gain forty more licenses to rent cars, a swap the Oak Bluffs selectmen happily accepted.

A big sacrifice? Maybe not. But a welcome example of a citizen who took it upon himself to do the right thing without being compelled.

Thank you, Mr. Gregory. We hope others take your example.