The invention relates to a safety device, comprising a first, microprocessor-controlled control unit and a second control unit, for multichannel controlling of a safety-related unit. The first microprocessor-controlled control unit has a signal generation unit for generating a first monitoring signal that indicates the current operating state of the first control unit. In addition, a switching unit drivable by the first and second control unit that can turn on the safety-related unit or run it into a secured state is provided. The second control unit has a monoflop that, in response to the monitoring signal, drives the switching unit in such a manner that the safety-related unit can be driven into a safe state in case of faulty operation of the first control unit. A device is associated with the first control unit for generating an enable signal for the second control unit.