Times were hard in rural Kentucky and his Dad told him he had to quit school and get a job. Bill found a job that allowed him to stay in school and work. He applied to drive the school bus.
16-year-old Bill had driven almost everything on the farm, but to drive the bus he needed a driver's license. So he borrowed his uncle's Model A Ford and took it to the state highway patrol office.
Unfortunately, his uncle's Model A wasn't in very good condition. It lacked brakes and a working clutch, among other things. The officer giving Bill his road test soon began to suspect that something was wrong.
"Bring this vehicle to a complete stop." he ordered.
Bill obliged by shifting the car out of gear and rubbing the right front tire against a curb until it stopped. The officer realized the car didn't have any brakes, so he had Bill drive back to the office.
"Son" he told Bill, "if you can drive this you can drive anything. Here's your license."
Times, they keep telling me, have changed, and whenever I tell this story people always smile because they appreciate the beauty of a simpler time but also understand that this story could never happen today.
The motor vehicle industry has changed forever. Modern cars and trucks are crammed full of equipment to reduce pollution, increase gas mileage, and hopefully reduce the amount of carnage on the roads.
Times have also changed for the industry that provides adaptive motor vehicle equipment for persons with disabilities. This equipment is no longer the collection of ragtag parts put together in someone's garage. In the past 35 years since wheelchair lifts were invented, engineers, lawyers and even the federal government have gotten involved.
Perhaps all of this is for the best. In the past too much emotion was attached to the "special" equipment. Now, it is all just another part of a "special" ride. The price the consumer pays for all of this is he/she must remain current and knowledgeable about the products in this field.
KB
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