Many of those who drive commercial delivery vans aren’t specially trained to do so. They are couriers, craftsmen, or people who rent a van for the day to move something large.

The dimensions and unfamiliar sightlines often lead to accidents or near misses—even when doing something as simple as backing out of a parking space.

Or, as Mercedes-Benz development engineer Thomas Konzelmann puts it: “In a panel van, you don’t see anything. You just pray.”

Mercedes is looking to make piloting a commercial van a safer enterprise with a raft of new features for the 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

Mechanical improvements such as all-wheel drive, low-range gearing, and electronic traction and stability controls will help maintain vehicular control under difficult road conditions. But what about avoiding accidents by other means?

Although many passenger cars offer most of these features, it has taken a while to cascade to the commercial van sector. The new Sprinter will offer the following features: