A control device for an object coupling device of a vehicle is configured to actuate a dampening device of the object coupling device such that an object moved by an inertial force from a fixing position along a specified target route to a target impact component of the vehicle can be delayed. The control device is additionally configured to determine a target operating mode of the dampening device from at least two executable operating modes of the dampening device having a different time difference between an exit time of the object from the fixing position and an insert time of a delay of the object to be executed by the dampening device and to control the dampening device into the target operating mode via the at least one control signal.