A sensor system for a vehicle for recognizing adjacent vehicles, situated in an adjacent lane, with protruding or exposed objects, is described which includes a first lateral LIDAR sensor. The first lateral LIDAR sensor is tilted about a first transverse axis with respect to the horizontal, so that the first detection range, with its front portion in the travel direction, detects a first upper spatial area laterally ahead of the vehicle, at a height above the installed position of the first lateral LIDAR sensor. The second lateral LIDAR sensor is tilted opposite to the tilt direction of the first LIDAR sensor about a second transverse axis with respect to the horizontal, so that the second detection range, with its rear portion in the travel direction, detects a second upper spatial area laterally behind the vehicle, at a height above the installed position of the second LIDAR sensor.