Steering control apparatus

A steering control apparatus that controls an assistance torque outputted by a steering assistance motor based on a steering torque applied by a driver, the steering control apparatus comprising:

• a basic assistance torque calculating unit that calculates a basic assistance torque;
• and
• a correction torque calculating unit that calculates a correction torque to be added to the basic assistance torque, wherein
• the correction torque calculating unit includes
• a returning state determining unit that determines whether a steering wheel is turning or returning, and
• a returning speed stabilization control unit that calculates a returning speed stabilization torque to stabilize a returning speed of the steering wheel, as the correction torque, and
• the returning speed stabilization control unit calculates the returning speed stabilization torque such as to bring a second-order time differential value of steering wheel position-related information correlated with a steering wheel position closer to zero, and such that an absolute value of the returning speed stabilization torque based on the steering wheel returning is relatively greater than that based on the steering wheel turning.