Fultondale() - Local man James Whitcomb has been specifically targeted by drivers intent on slowing down his morning commute, simply because he is white. Whitcomb claims that this racial profiling started when he began taking a new route to work, which was supposed to shorten his travel time by five minutes. "It is a perfectly good route and I don't understand why these people keep slowing me down," said Whitcomb. "I'm just minding my own business, driving to work. There is no reason for people to drive so slow in front of me."

Whitcomb's commute takes him from a predominantly white section of Fultondale, to the custom auto performance shop he works at near the Civil Rights District. Recently Whitcomb discovered a shortcut using Lewisburg Road and Shuttlesworth drive, which never have any traffic, unlike I-65. Residents along that portion of his route recently began noticing a "strange white guy" driving very fast through their neighborhood. Lacking police service, the neighborhood decided to take matters into its own hands in an attempt to slow things down. "I don't know what he is doing in our neighborhood," said Fountain Heights neighborhood leader Doris Powell. "And I don't care as long as he slows down a little."

Whitcomb says he lives about 22 minutes from downtown, if he takes I-65. This allows him to get up at 7:15 and watch TV for 23 minutes while having a bowl of frosted flakes. "I like watching Ken and Melissa in the morning," said Whitcomb. "This new route was going to let me relax a little bit without worrying about being late." When asked if he could not leave home a little earlier in order to make it to work on time, Whitcomb became somewhat defensive. "Just because I've worked it out so I can be at work on time with RATIONAL drivers on the road doesn't make me a bad person. Five to ten miles over the speed limit is perfectly reasonable I think." When asked if he would like people driving fast in his neighborhood Whitcomb replied, "people don't need to drive fast through my neighborhood, it isn't dangerous. At least not for white people."