A method for determining a number of vehicle-to-X messages to be discarded, wherein a work cycle of a vehicle-to-X communication unit involves vehicle-to-X messages being received, wherein the work cycle involves a number of received vehicle-to-X messages being determined, wherein the work cycle involves an existent computation power being available and wherein the work cycle involves the number of vehicle-to-X messages to be discarded being determined on the basis of the number of received vehicle-to-X messages. The invention additionally relates to a corresponding system and to a use for the system.