A method and a device for detecting objects in the blind spot of a vehicle are provided, which make it possible, through an adaptively decreased measuring time, to achieve a shorter response time for alerting a driver in the event of an imminent collision with an object in the blind spot. Due to the fact that the frequency and/or the width of a measuring signal is/are set as a function of the previously determined distance between the vehicle and the object, it is possible to increase the sampling rate proportional to the decrease in the distance between the vehicle and the object. This makes it possible to detect the closest object more rapidly, i.e., for the most relevant object for a potential collision to be evaluated, thereby generating an adequately early collision alert. The frequency of a measuring signal is preferably set reciprocally proportional to the determined distance between the vehicle and the object.