Protection device for a passenger in a vehicle

The device has a passenger-protection unit with a sensor (11) that detects a movement of a body part of passenger in a vehicle. An evaluation unit (12) evaluates height/weight of the passenger to trigger the passenger-protection unit based on the detected movement of the body part. The unit has a memory unit for storing critical movement sequences of the head/body posture of the passenger. An independent claim is also included for a method for triggering a passenger-protection unit in a vehicle.