Patent ID: 8712674

Claim:
A vehicle running control system comprising: front-environment recognition means mounted in a subject vehicle, the front-environment recognition means recognizing at least a preceding vehicle, and an inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the subject vehicle; right/left turn judging means for judging a right or left turn of the preceding vehicle on the basis of information about the preceding vehicle recognized by the front-environment recognition means; and target inter-vehicle distance setting means for setting a target inter-vehicle distance between the subject vehicle and the preceding vehicle on the basis of one of a vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle calculated from the information about the preceding vehicle recognized by the front-environment recognition means and a speed of the subject vehicle, wherein the target inter-vehicle distance is a target distance established for comparison with the recognized inter-vehicle distance, the target inter-vehicle distance includes a first target inter-vehicle distance set when the right/left turn judging means determines that the preceding vehicle is making a right or left turn, and a second target inter-vehicle distance set when the preceding vehicle is traveling straight ahead, and the first target inter-vehicle distance is shorter than the second target inter-vehicle distance.