Method for detecting wrong-way drivers, wherein the method comprises the following steps of: reading in position data via an interface, wherein the position data represent a position of the vehicle measured using a sensor arranged in a vehicle; reading in map data representing a set of road elements of a road network that can be used by the vehicle ; determining a plurality of particles using the position data , wherein a particle represents an assumed position of the vehicle and a weighting associated with the assumed position; and determining at least one road element from the set of road elements , which is plausible with respect to use by the vehicle , on the basis of the plurality of particles using a particle filter , wherein the determining steps are carried out using a computing unit for processing signals or data; providing a wrong-way driving signal using the at least one possible road element, wherein the wrong-way driving signal indicates whether or not there is wrong-way driving of the vehicle , characterized in that , in the step of determining the plausible road element, road elements from the set of road elements which extend at a short distance from one another are excluded from the determination of the at least one plausible road element or are used as a combined road element when determining the at least one plausible road element, wherein road elements extending at a short distance from one another are those road elements which are closer to one another than a predefined reference distance or are road elements which are in a junction area of a motorway, and wherein a combined road element is a road element that can be used in both directions of travel. reading in position data via an interface, wherein the position data represent a position of the vehicle measured using a sensor arranged in a vehicle; reading in map data representing a set of road elements of a road network that can be used by the vehicle ; determining a plurality of particles using the position data , wherein a particle represents an assumed position of the vehicle and a weighting associated with the assumed position; and determining at least one road element from the set of road elements , which is plausible with respect to use by the vehicle , on the basis of the plurality of particles using a particle filter , wherein the determining steps are carried out using a computing unit for processing signals or data; providing a wrong-way driving signal using the at least one possible road element, wherein the wrong-way driving signal indicates whether or not there is wrong-way driving of the vehicle , characterized in that , in the step of determining the plausible road element, road elements from the set of road elements which extend at a short distance from one another are excluded from the determination of the at least one plausible road element or are used as a combined road element when determining the at least one plausible road element, wherein road elements extending at a short distance from one another are those road elements which are closer to one another than a predefined reference distance or are road elements which are in a junction area of a motorway, and wherein a combined road element is a road element that can be used in both directions of travel. <EOS>