Patent ID: 7152000

Claim:
A traveling state determining apparatus comprising: a camera that picks up an image of a road surface in a direction in which a vehicle is traveling; and zigzag state detecting section configured to determine a zigzag amount on the basis of the road surface image picked up using the camera, wherein the zigzag state detecting section is comprised of: white line determining section configured to determine parts of the road surface which are similar to white lines; white line position detecting section configured to detect positions determined to be white lines in a lateral direction with respect to a center of the road surface image; approximating section configured to approximate the positions detected by the detecting section and determined to be white lines, using a straight line extending toward a null; left-hand zigzag amount calculating and determining section configured to calculate a zigzag amount of a left-hand boundary on the basis of the left-hand straight line approximated by the approximating section; right-hand zigzag amount determining section configured to calculate a zigzag amount of a right-hand boundary on the basis of the right-hand straight line approximated by the approximating section; and calculating section for calculating an average zigzag amount of the vehicle on the basis of results of the calculations by the left-hand zigzag amount calculating section and the right-hand zigzag amount calculating section.