Method for the improved near and remote detection of a LIDAR receiving unit for motor vehicles, wherein the receiving unit has a plurality of sensor elements, wherein the sensor elements can be activated and deactivated, wherein at least a subset of the sensor elements are activated at a first point in time within a measurement cycle, wherein one or more sensor elements are activated and/or one or more sensor elements are deactivated at a second point in time within the measurement cycle, said second point in time occurring after the first point in time.