The Direct Vision Standard (DVS) and safety permit for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) requires all HGVs over 12t to be granted a permit to enter or operate in Greater London. The scheme was created by Transport for London (TFL) to improve the safety of all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.  It will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will be enforced on all roads within the Greater London Boundary.  The change came into effect on 26 October 2020 and will be enforced from 01 March 2021.  

The DVS uses a star system to rate the vision from HGVs from zero star (lowest) to 5 star (highest) based only on how much a driver can see directly through their cab windows. 

Permits for 3, 4 and 5 star rated vehicles will be issued for a period of 10 years. Permits for 1 and 2 star rated vehicles will be issued to expire on 26 October 2024.

Vehicles with a zero star rating can get a permit if fitted with Safe System equipment.  Evidence of fitment will be required and a permit will be issued to expire on 26 October 2024.

To check the rating of a new Mercedes-Benz Truck you may be considering purchasing, please speak to your local Dealer:

In order to facilitate the issuing of a Direct Vision Standard (DVS) HGV Safety Permit, we have provided TfL with the ratings of all the UK sourced and registered (qualifying) Mercedes-Benz trucks.

Permits will be automatically issued through the TfL website, which can be accessed here:

In the rare event that the UK sourced and registered (qualifying) Mercedes-Benz truck is not available on the TfL database (this could be that the registration data has not been passed to TfL by the DVSA) we are able to issue you a Direct Vision Certificate (to support your manual application) by using our online Direct Vision Certificate Generator:

Vehicles between 0 and 4 stars, under the Direct Vision Standard, the exceptional visibility of the new Mercedes-Benz Actros and Arocs with MirrorCam increases safety in urban driving. Depending on the chosen cab, some of these models can obtain a 10 year HGV Safety Permit with no additional modification, to help futureproof your business.

The reason for this exceptional visibility is partly due to the design of our cabs.  The drivers sit higher relative to the bottom of the window that contributes to better visibility. In addition, there is MirrorCam, the compact, camera-based replacement for conventional mirrors. MirrorCam on Actros and Arocs improves the forward vision of the driver, due to the absence of the blindspots caused by conventional mirrors. 

Several factors have a bearing on how much a driver can see, and therefore the star rating awarded to the vehicle.  The most obvious are lower cab heights and narrower cab widths but tyres and spring settings also come into play.

The Econic has earned a five star Direct Vision rating thanks to its deep panoramic windscreen and full-height glazed side door.