Vehicle control apparatus and vehicle control program product

A vehicle control apparatus for executing acceleration/deceleration control of an own vehicle traveling in a lane as an own lane, the vehicle control apparatus comprising:

• an acquiring unit configured to acquire factor information indicative of one or more factors that cause acceleration or deceleration of the own vehicle while the own vehicle is subjected to the acceleration/deceleration control;
• a setting unit configured to set, based on the factor information, at least one of a maximum level of deceleration and a maximum level of acceleration, the maximum level of deceleration representing a maximum rate of reduction in a speed of the own vehicle during deceleration of the own vehicle, the maximum level of acceleration representing a maximum rate of increase in the speed of the own vehicle during acceleration of the own vehicle;
• and
• an acceleration/deceleration control unit configured to comprise at least one of:
• a first function of performing deceleration control of the own vehicle using the maximum level of deceleration as an upper limit for the deceleration control;
• and
• a second function of performing acceleration control of the own vehicle using the maximum level of acceleration as an upper limit for the acceleration control,
• wherein the acceleration/deceleration control unit is configured to:
• execute, as the acceleration/deceleration control, tracking control that causes the own vehicle to track, as a target preceding vehicle, a vehicle traveling ahead of the own vehicle in the own lane;
• determine, when the own vehicle makes a lane change from the own lane to a lane adjacent to the own lane, whether a forward adjacent vehicle is traveling in a forward adjacent area of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane;
• and
• switch, upon determination that the forward adjacent vehicle is traveling in the forward adjacent area of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane, the target preceding vehicle of the tracking control from the vehicle traveling ahead of the own vehicle in the own lane to the forward adjacent vehicle;
• wherein the factor information includes information indicative of whether the forward adjacent vehicle is traveling in the forward adjacent area of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane,
• wherein the setting unit is configured to set, upon determination that the forward adjacent vehicle is traveling in the forward adjacent area of the own vehicle in the adjacent lane under execution of the tracking control, at least one of:
• the maximum level of deceleration with respect to the forward adjacent vehicle as the target preceding vehicle of the tracking control;
• and
• the maximum level of acceleration with respect to the forward adjacent vehicle as the target preceding vehicle of the tracking control.