A driver assistance system comprises a plurality of distance sensors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10), particularly ultrasound sensors, which are spatially distributed and communicate via a data bus (12) with each other. The sensors are of identical design and can initialize themselves by way of the method according to the invention without a control device and can synchronize the distance measurement among each other. The overall result of a measurement of the sensors is transmitted to an output unit (14) and displayed to the driver.