One of the Island’s representatives in the Massachusetts State House testified in support of a bill Tuesday that would ban moped rentals in Oak Bluffs.

State Rep. Dylan Fernandes threw his support behind the bill, H.3726, during a hearing with the joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government.

The proposed ban has been put to the state legislature several times in the past seven years and aims to halt the rentals in the name of safety. Oak Bluffs is the only town that has moped rentals on the Island, and residents have long backed efforts to remove them because of reckless drivers and fatal crashes.

“Over the past four decades at least nine people have died from moped crashes on Island, and others have been left with really serious injuries,” said representative Fernandes. “We really hope that this is the year that we can put an end to mopeds being [rented] in Oak Bluffs.”

Representative Fernandes explained that most rental customers are tourists who have little to no training on the vehicles or experience on Island roads.

“[The roads] are very very sandy — this is a beach community,” he said. “And [renters] are very often getting into accidents where they’re losing limbs.”

On Sunday, a mother and daughter riding a moped rented in Oak Bluffs crashed near the roundabout. The mother said she slipped on loose sand, hit the curb and fell from the moped, according to an Oak Bluffs police report.

The mother suffered a broken collar bone, five broken ribs and a bruised lung, police wrote. The daughter hurt her knee.

At Tuesday’s hearing committee chair and State Rep. Carole Fiola emphasized the challenging nature of the bill since it protects public safety but eliminates a popular method of transportation that many vacationers rely on.

“I understand the concerns that are being raised,” she said. “It’s difficult being a vacation haven for everyone, [with people] just trying to figure out how to get around.”

Representative Fernandes added that e-bike rentals would not be regulated by the bill.

The ban likely faces an uphill battle in the state house. Oak Bluffs residents voted overwhelmingly in 2018 to petition the legislature for a home rule law that would enable the town to prohibit rentals. Mr. Fernandes and State Sen. Julian Cyr have filed the bill at least three other times in the past, but the home rule petition has struggled to gain traction and died in committee.

If the current bill is passed by lawmakers, it would go back to town meeting where voters would have to make a final change to town bylaws.