A method is provided for operating a system of a vehicle for protection of a vulnerable road user. The system includes a remote sensor, a contact-based sensor, and a pedestrian protection device. The method may include scanning a region in front of the vehicle by the remote sensor to detect a target object and, if a target object is detected, classifying the target object into an object category based on information from the remote sensor. The method may also include selecting the selectable fire interval of an evaluation algorithm using the object category as input and, if an impact is detected by the contact-based sensor, the contact-based sensor sending information about the impact to the evaluation algorithm. The method may also include the evaluation algorithm evaluating if the signal is within the selectable fire interval, and in that case activating the pedestrian protection device.