Why are steering wheels on buses positioned more horizontally than vertically?
A friend casually raised this issue the other day over lunch and it stuck with me. I assume it has something to with better handling but I don’t know for sure.
In: Other
Convenience and reliability. Not every bus is set up this way.
Technically a vertical wheel is better for ergonomics. That means it’s more comfortable and less likely to cause muscle stress.
But in a lot of buses, the driver is at the very front of the vehicle and there’s no “nose” putting distance between the driver and the wheels. That means the steering gears are below the driver. Installing an angled steering wheel would mean adding more parts, and the more parts you have the more likely something will break.
But some buses have a big “nose” in front, and the wheels are further away from the driver. That means the stuff connecting the steering wheel to the actual wheels has to move forwards anyway, so it’s more convenient to tilt the wheel. That’s how most passenger cars are, as well.
You can occasionally find trucks or buses that put the driver on top of the wheels and still have a tilted wheel. It just means they decided to take on some extra costs and maintenance to make the driver more comfortable.
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