Many drivers, particularly and, ironically, residents with school-age children, drive at excessive speeds on Hemlock Drive and Quacker Ridge, two narrow and winding lanes. Not only do they disregard the limits, they drive in the middle of the road and don't cede until seconds before an impact could occur. Additionally there are often construction and landscaping vehicles parked by the road further impairing a driver's ability to negotiate the roads.

There are two sign posts at the beginning of Hemlock Drive to indicate the speed limit of 15 miles per hour and to slow down for children. From the end of Quacker Ridge, the first sign post indicates the speed limit as 25 miles per hour, but around the curve, it is lowered to 15 miles per hour. Thereafter, there is no indication that the speed be increased.

In the morning of July 8 a resident in a dark blue Porsche drove across the lawn of the neighboring house (5 Hemlock Drive) as a delivery vehicle was pulling into my driveway. According to the statement made by the contractor who requested the delivery, the driver of the offending vehicle "pulled a horizontal" and sped ahead. As a concerned neighbor and resident, I called the authorities and asked the contractor to relate his firsthand account of the occurrence.

In the past, my husband Kevin and I have been on the receiving end of foul responses from residents when we have asked that they slow down. After so many years of frustration, I admit that I no longer ask; I yell at drivers if I am playing with my children in the front yard or working on the yard. When I pull onto Hemlock Drive in my car and slow down to the appropriate speed, I am flashed with lights. This continues until I pull into my driveway. On the other hand, when I follow vehicles into the neighborhood, my speedometer reads at least 40 to 50 miles per hour.

I spoke to people at the Town of Oyster Bay and left a message for the Mayor of Brookville about this issue. A few years ago, I summoned the police when my kids and I bikes. The officer suggested that I build a path around my property for them to ride. Instead, my husband and I warned the children about the dangers; they are allowed to ride only on our driveway. The subject came to the forefront again as we are rebuilding our driveway and it cannot be used. Unless I take our bikes and scooters out of the neighborhood, we cannot ride for a least a year or two until the driveway settles. Or I could expose my children to danger if we venture onto the streets of Hemlock Drive and Quacker Ridge.

Deborah Brody