Collision avoidance apparatus

A collision avoidance apparatus comprising:

• an obstacle detection section which detects an obstacle present in a heading direction of a vehicle;
• a collision avoidance section which performs collision avoidance assist control for avoiding collision with the obstacle, the collision avoidance assist control including at least one of control of decreasing speed of the vehicle and control of turning the vehicle;
• and
• an avoidance processing start section which causes the collision avoidance section to start the collision avoidance assist control when a collision time which is a time remaining before the vehicle collides with the obstacle becomes smaller than a predetermined time threshold,
• the collision avoidance apparatus further comprising a time threshold adjustment section which performs time threshold adjustment processing when the obstacle is an continuous obstacle for which a condition that a distance between a specific point on an intersection line between a road surface and a facing surface of the obstacle which faces the vehicle and a reference line which is a straight line extending in a lateral direction of the vehicle and located on the vehicle side of the facing surface increases as the specific point moves in a specific direction which is one of rightward and leftward directions of the vehicle is satisfied when the specific point is located between an obstacle-side collision point which is a point on the obstacle which first collides with the vehicle if the vehicle travels while maintaining a steering state of the vehicle at the present point in time, and a point which is separated from the obstacle-side collision point in the specific direction along the intersection line by a predetermined distance, wherein the time threshold adjustment processing sets the time threshold such that the time threshold becomes smaller than that set in a case where the obstacle is not continuous obstacle and such that the larger a magnitude of an intersection line inclination which is an acute angle formed between the intersection line and the reference line, the smaller a value to which the time threshold is set.