Twenty-five years ago, President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans With Disabilities Act. It granted a wide range of civil rights to people with both physical and intellectual impairments. Things we now take for granted, such as wheel chair accessible buildings, are a result of the Act. But one expression of freedom often remains elusive for people with disabilities–driving a car.

New technology may be changing that. Advances in design have led to some breakthroughs that address a key problem for many people, accessibility.  And a number of developments leading toward self-driving cars could make mobility much easier for people with disabilities.

The Wheel Thing, with OC Register auto critic Susan Carpenter, is our weekly discussion of personal transportation.