Here's the trade. A moped dealer who controls two rental outlets in Oak Bluffs is offering to shut down one moped shop. In exchange, he wants town officials to hand him a liquor license and a sewer permit for a new restaurant near the harbor.
Spring Visitor Becomes Moped Casualty, Suffering Serious Injuries in Chilmark
By MANDY LOCKE
The Vineyard received an unfortunate sign of the summer
season's approach last weekend when a Mashpee woman suffered
severe injuries after her rental moped slipped off South Road in
Chilmark Sunday afternoon.
Denise Davis, 33, of Mashpee, lost control of her moped on a
straight stretch near Quansoo Road as she moved closer to the
road's edge to make room for passing cars, said Chilmark police
chief Timothy Rich.
According to new statistics released this week by Martha's
Vineyard Hospital, the number of people injured in moped accidents
during the first seven months of the year dropped sharply for the second
year in a row.
Manuel Suza just ordered a fill-up at deBettencourt's gas
station in Oak Bluffs and only had to shell out $1.66. No wonder he was
still smiling.
His rig barely uses any fuel, but it comes with a price. It's
a moped, and he's riding the thing in 35 degree weather. That
explains the thickly-insulated coveralls and ski gloves.
Mr. Suza is one of a handful of hearty Islanders who rely on a
vehicle that would hardly win a popularity contest on the Vineyard.
Largest Moped Agency Fails to Meet Deadline for Renewal of License
By CHRIS BURRELL
After more than a year of tough talk about enforcing moped
regulations and showing scofflaw dealers no mercy, Oak Bluffs is now
giving a break to two brothers who own the biggest fleet of mopeds in
town.
The latest survey of moped, bicycle and motorcycle accidents on the Island won't show the broken ribs, the punctured lungs or the "whole body rubbed raw" by a case of road rash, said Dr. Alan Hirshberg, the director of emergency services at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital.
Joanne Nutting is one of the 27 people who crashed a moped on the Vineyard last year and ended up in the emergency room at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital.
Emergency Responders Report Moped Accidents Down Again
By BRIEN HEFLER
Moped accidents were down again on the Vineyard this summer, and
emergency responders cite better public safety education as a possible
factor.
Preliminary numbers compiled by the four ambulance departments on
the Island show that the departments responded to an average number of
calls during the summer months, with a slight increase in the
down-Island departments.
But across the board the number of moped accidents saw a significant
drop.
Sunday's moped accident that claimed the life of a 41-year-old
New York city woman has reopened old wounds for Islanders who want to
see stronger safety standards for the two-wheeled vehicles, and others
who want them banned from the Vineyard altogether.
A woman visitor driving a moped down a straight stretch of the
Edgartown-West Tisbury Road in West Tisbury on Sunday was killed after
she reportedly lost control of the two-wheeled vehicle and struck a
utility pole head-on.
