Mopeds are dangerous and have been since the 1980s when Sam Feldman and Chilmark police chief Tim Rich began the safety crusade against rental mopeds here on the Vineyard.

The newspapers have followed the twists and turns of the moped saga, reported on the meetings, the bylaw changes, the closing of a few of the moped companies, the Island-wide town votes to stop moped rentals, and the inaction at the State House and have published myriad letters to the editor over the decades. To be clear, this is about inexperienced riders renting and riding without adequate training, not people on the Island who are licensed and use scooters for their own transportation.

The moped licenses come up for renewal in April. The Oak Bluffs select board should follow their own bylaws and not continue to grant licenses to the two businesses who have filed incomplete applications for years. One can look up the moped bylaws on the Oak Bluffs town website to see what is required and look through the town archives at the incomplete applications.

The select board has also waved the requirement for a training track on private land for decades and allowed the businesses to operate out of the busiest intersection near Oak Bluffs harbor. This cannot continue to happen.

Additionally, I believe, it should be put forward to the select board that moped rentals be restricted to one person per vehicle. Two people riding on a two-wheeled vehicle requires a different skill than one person alone, yet with the lack of a training track there is no proper training anyway. Many of the accidents and fatalities have involved two people on one vehicle.

I urge the community to pay attention in the next few months to what is happening in Oak Bluffs regarding the renewal of the business license for the two moped rentals in town. I will be away and unable to beat the drum and put endless postings on Facebook and call people to rally them to meetings as I did back in 2016 when Sam, Tim myself and Lisa Holley reactivated the group as Mopeds Are Dangerous Action Committee (MADAC). I hope that those of us in the community concerned about the safety of our Island will keep their eyes and ears open, show up and make their opinions known to the leaders of Oak Bluffs. Watch the papers for select board meetings and their agendas. Email or write letters to the select board letting them know your thoughts.

We are so close to ending the scourge of rental mopeds. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. If you are worried and concerned about e-bikes, then do something about it, do not comment “what about the e-bikes?” This is about moped rentals. Talk is cheap and the squeaky wheel not only gets the grease, but makes things happen. Taking action is imperative.

It would be a fitting and meaningful tribute to Sam if what he started over 40 years ago was completed. It would be good to turn those red “Mopeds Are Dangerous” bumper stickers into yet another Vineyard collector’s item.

Nicole Brisson

Edgartown