In one embodiment, in addition to detecting or recognizing an actual lane, a virtual lane is determined based on the current state or motion prediction of an ADV. A virtual lane may or may not be identical or similar to the actual lane. A virtual lane may represent the likely movement of the ADV in a next time period given the current speed and heading direction of the vehicle. If an object is detected that may cross a lane line of the virtual lane and is a closest object to the ADV, the object is considered as a CIPO, and an emergency operation may be activated. That is, even though an object may not be in the path of an actual lane, if the object is in the path of a virtual lane of an ADV, the object may be considered as a CIPO and subject to a special operation.