A vehicle control system includes a pedal, such as an accelerator pedal, an adjusting device, a sensor and a control unit. The pedal may be actuated by the hand of an operator to set a state variable of the vehicle. The adjusting device applies a force to the pedal. A sensor senses a variable representing a state variable of the vehicle and transmits a sensor signal to the control unit. The control unit determines a state variable of the current operating state of the vehicle. The control unit, depending on the current operating state of the vehicle, controls the adjusting device so that a predetermined force is applied to the pedal, in order to make the operator aware of an unsafe operating condition.