Patent ID: 8521414

Claim:
A vehicle safety driving apparatus having: an object detector that detects an object present around a vehicle; a motion state detector that detects a state of motion of the vehicle; a contact possibility determiner that determines a possibility of contact with the detected object based on the detected state of motion; and a contact avoidance assistance conductor that recognizes the object as an obstacle when it is determined that there is a possibility of contact with the object, and conducts operation of assisting avoidance of contact with the recognized obstacle by a warning or vehicle control, wherein: a steering torque applier applies a predetermined steering torque as the warning; a driver's steering force change amount calculator calculates a change amount of driver's steering force in a direction opposite to a direction of the applied predetermined steering torque, the contact avoidance assistance conductor conducts contact avoidance assistance operation in place of applying the predetermined steering torque when the calculated driver's steering force change amount is less than a set value, a steering angle change amount calculator calculates a change amount of steering angle of a steering wheel relative to the applied predetermined steering torque, and the contact avoidance assistance conductor enhances the contact avoidance assistance operation when the calculated driver's steering force change amount is less than the set value and the calculated steering angle change amount of the steering wheel is less than a second set value.