The driving assistance apparatus comprises a camera device configured to obtain a camera image by taking a picture of a predetermined area ahead of a host vehicle; and a control unit configured to drive the host vehicle so as to cause an acceleration of the host vehicle to become equal to a follow-up acceleration to make an inter vehicle distance to a preceding vehicle coincide with a target inter vehicle distance. When the preceding vehicle is a large-size vehicle, the control unit obtains the target inter vehicle distance for causing a traffic-signal-equipment-distance indicative of a distance to a traffic signal equipment of when the traffic signal equipment is detected above the preceding vehicle in the camera image to be longer than a stop-required-distance for which the host vehicle travels until the host vehicle stops under the assumption that the host vehicle decelerates at a predetermined deceleration.

The techniques and systems herein enable vehicle positioning for V2V optimization. Specifically, responsive to determining that a quality of a V2V connection between the host vehicle and a target does not satisfy a threshold, a following position of the host vehicle relative to the target and whether the following position is within a predicted null position of the V2V connection and closer to the target than a selected position are determined. The following position is then controlled based on whether the following position is within the predicted null position and whether the following position is closer to the target than the selected position. By controlling the following position based on the quality of the V2V connection and the null position, more-reliable V2V connections may be maintained, thus enabling better performance of downstream operations.

A computer includes a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to identify a first scenario in which a vehicle is operating from a plurality of scenarios, prompt an operator to activate an adaptive cruise control of the vehicle in response to a preference score for the first scenario being above a threshold, refrain from prompting the operator to activate the adaptive cruise control in response to the preference score for the first scenario being below the threshold, and activate the adaptive cruise control in response to receiving an input to activate the adaptive cruise control from the operator. The scenarios indicate at least one characteristic of a road on which the vehicle is traveling. The preference score indicates a preference of the operator for activating the adaptive cruise control in the first scenario.

An autonomous vehicle detects a tailgating vehicle and uses various response mechanisms. A vehicle is identified as a tailgater based on whether its characteristics meet a variable threshold. When the autonomous vehicle is traveling at slower speeds, the threshold is defined in distance. When the autonomous vehicle is traveling at faster speeds, the threshold is defined in time. The autonomous vehicle responds to the tailgater by modifying its driving behavior. In one example, the autonomous vehicle adjusts a headway buffer (defined in time) from another vehicle in front of the autonomous vehicle. In this regard, if the tailgater is T seconds too close to the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle increases the headway buffer to the vehicle in front of it by some amount relative to T.

An autonomous driving system acquires information concerning a vehicle density in an adjacent lane that is adjacent to a lane on which an own vehicle is traveling, when the own vehicle travels on a road having a plurality of lanes. The autonomous driving system selects the adjacent lane as an own vehicle travel lane, when the vehicle density in the adjacent lane that is calculated from the acquired information is lower than a threshold density that is determined in accordance with relations between the own vehicle and surrounding vehicles. The autonomous driving system performs lane change to the adjacent lane autonomously, or propose lane change to the adjacent lane to a driver, when the adjacent lane is selected as the own vehicle travel lane.

A vehicular control system includes a plurality of sensors disposed at a vehicle and sensing exterior of the vehicle. An electronic control unit (ECU) includes a processor that processes sensor data captured by the sensors. The vehicular control system, responsive at least in part to processing at the ECU of captured sensor data as the vehicle travels in a traffic lane of a road, detects another vehicle that is rearward of the equipped vehicle and traveling along an adjacent traffic lane. The vehicular control system detects a leading vehicle ahead of the equipped vehicle and traveling in the same traffic lane as the equipped vehicle. The vehicular control system, responsive to determination of a space along the other traffic lane ahead of the detected other vehicle, controls the equipped vehicle to maneuver into the adjacent traffic lane to pass the detected leading vehicle ahead of the detected other vehicle.

A vehicular control system includes a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs), each providing a respective quantity of computational units representative of an amount of processing power of the respective ECU. The ECUs operate a vehicle in a nominal autonomous operational mode when a sum of the quantity of computational units exceeds a threshold. The system, while the ECUs operate the vehicle in the nominal autonomous operational mode, and responsive to detecting a failure of one of the ECUs, determines whether a sum of the quantity of computational units of the remaining ECUs that do not have a failure exceeds the threshold. The ECUs, responsive to the system determining that the sum of the quantity of computational units of the remaining ECUs fails to exceed the threshold, switches from operating the vehicle in the nominal autonomous operational mode to operating the vehicle in a degraded autonomous operational mode.

A stop position control system of the present invention includes a controller configured to control the stop position of a stop vehicle that is to stop in a stop area. In the stop position control system, vehicle information on the stop vehicle and luggage information on luggage possessed by a user who is using the stop vehicle are acquired, a necessary stop interval required for loading/unloading the user's luggage from the stop vehicle in the stop area is set based on the vehicle information and the luggage information, and the necessary stop interval is transmitted to an adjacent vehicle that is to stop adjacent to the stop vehicle.

A vehicle control apparatus including a camera, a detector acquiring position information of a target based on reflected wave and a microprocessor. The microprocessor is configured to perform estimating a position of the target, based on position information acquired by the camera and the detector, controlling an actuator based on the estimated position, and detecting a predetermined gradient state in which a gradient of a road surface in front of a subject vehicle is an upward gradient of a predetermined degree or more with respect to a road surface at a current position of the subject vehicle and is configured to perform the estimating including estimating the position of the target by lowering a reliability of position information acquired by the camera among position information of the target captured on the road surface in the predetermined gradient state when the predetermined gradient state is detected.

A driving system for a motor vehicle includes a first driving function for automated driving with automated longitudinal and transverse guidance and a second driving function for automated driving with at least automated longitudinal guidance, or with at least automated transverse guidance. The second driving function has a lower degree of automation than the first driving function. The first driving function is available in a tolerance range. Starting from a driving state with an active second driving function and a value of the driving parameter outside the tolerance range, the driving system changes, when the second driving function is active, the value of the driving parameter in the direction of the tolerance range via automated longitudinal guidance or automated transverse guidance. The driving system then determines that the driving parameter satisfies a criterion with respect to the tolerance range.