Patent ID: 8600657

Claim:
A vehicle control apparatus comprising: sensors; and a controller that receives input from the sensors, the controller including: a calculation section configured to calculate a first risk level present on a left of a vehicle and a second risk level present on a right of the vehicle; a setting section configured to set a first control threshold for the left of the vehicle based on the first risk level and to set a second control threshold for the right of the vehicle based on the second risk level; and a change section configured to change at least one of the first and second control thresholds based on the first and second risk levels, wherein the first risk level indicates a distribution of a probability at which the vehicle collides against a first object present on the left of the vehicle, the second risk level indicates a distribution of a probability at which the vehicle collides against a second object present on the right of the vehicle, and the change section changes the first control threshold value such that a position indicated by the first control threshold value is closer to the first object as the second risk level increases, and changes the second control threshold value such that a position indicated by the second control threshold value is closer to the second object as the first risk level increases.