To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

DURHAM – Some people in Durham say they're ready to resort to paintball guns to try to put the brakes on speeders.

Signs posted in Durham's Duke Park community warned drivers the speed limit will be "enforced by angry neighbors with paintball guns."

"I love the sign," boasted Angelo Abbate, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years. "Traffic moves very rapidly through here. The speed limit is supposed to be 25 [mph]. It ends up being more like 45 [mph] and some people even go faster than that."

"Someone will eventually get killed and then the city will finally do something about it."

The City of Durham has already installed speed humps and a roundabout to try to slow down drivers. But nothing seems to have worked as well as the handmade paintball signs.

"I bet it's more of just an attention grabber that says slow down, somebody is watching you," Stewart Kennedy, who also lives in the neighborhood, said."

"It's giving us more attention than we get when we have an accident here," Abbate added.

The Durham Police Department said in an e-mailed statement that the department has "recently focused on traffic enforcement in the neighborhood where these signs appeared this morning and residents have complimented us on our response."

"While we are concerned about speeding in neighborhoods, the Police Department believes that these signs are inappropriate and potentially dangerous," the statement said. "We fear that these signs could be a distraction to even the most law-abiding motorists and possibly cause collisions."

People living in the area don't think anyone would actually shoot at speeders.

"I doubt it's legal to shoot a paintball at somebody so I don't think it'd be a great idea to shoot anything," Kennedy said.

"I don't think anyone is going to do any paintballing, but it's interesting that people have actually stopped because it's a very colorful sign," Abbate said with a grin.

Neither man knows who posted the signs.

The Durham Police Department says anyone who shoots paintballs at cars could be subject to civil and criminal sanctions. By law, even if a driver feels reasonably threatened, charges could be filed against the person who posted the signs.

Police suggest residents who are concerned about speeders should call the Traffic Services Unit at (919)560-4935.