An example method includes detecting, via sensor data collected from sensors located on the AV, an upcoming object located on a roadway. The method further includes determining, from the sensor data, a relative distance and a relative direction of the upcoming object with respect to the autonomous vehicle. The method further includes mapping the upcoming object to an absolute location with respect to the roadway based on map data that describes upcoming topology of the roadway and a location of the autonomous vehicle. The method further includes associating the upcoming object with a lane of the roadway based on the absolute location mapped to the upcoming object and based on lane geometry data for the roadway. The method further includes operating the autonomous vehicle based on a relationship between the lane associated with the upcoming object and a current lane in which the autonomous vehicle is located.

A method for operating a lane guidance assistant of a vehicle includes the steps of: receiving environmental data which describe an environment of the vehicle; recognizing lane boundaries delimiting a lane in which the vehicle is currently located; automatically performing steering interventions to keep the vehicle in the lane if the lane boundaries are recognized for a predefined debounce time; continually determining environmental conditions, the environmental conditions describing a current location of the vehicle, weather in the environment, a current time of day and/or a road type associated with the lane; and adjusting the debounce time according to the continually determined environmental conditions.