Gearbox shouldn't matter. If a driver is careless, then no
matter what bus you give the driver, he will still drive the same
way. Similarly, if a driver is careful, there should be no reason
why he should get into an accident where the fault lies with
him.
More importantly, the bus must be comfortable to drive and have
a well designed body that minimises blind spots.
The danger of choosing a bus with slower accleration will be
that drivers may not be able to catch up to their schedules as fast
as a bus with faster accleration. This adds stress and distraction,
and if it happens every trip, fatigue, which are the main factors
of why normally careful drivers get into accidents.
agreed!
To add on, I believe that TIB999B raised a salient question on
control: whether an A95 with an Ecolife is indeed less controllable
than one with a DIWA.
Short Answer: Yes
Long Answer: By virtue of transmission design, the ZF Ecolife
transmission can allow for quicker acceleration than a Voith DIWA.
Without going into the specifics, ride experience generally
suggests that quicker acceleration is often associated with reduced
control (for the majority of drivers), and that changing to a Voith
can and
will reduce
the initial acceleration, thereby affording some increased degree
of control.
Remarks: To change transmissions for 'more control' is imo
justifiable, although banal and reeks of silliness. Many issues
surrounding the ZF A22s can be mitigated with better driver
training and mentoring (with suitable technology and personnel of
course), although that might be lacking somehow. I feel that the ZF
A22s are actually ideally configured, although alot of driver training
and driver discipline is needed to reap the benefits the driveline
affords.
