Collision avoidance apparatus

A collision avoidance apparatus for avoiding a collision between an own vehicle and a movable object, the collision avoidance apparatus comprising:

• a laterally-existing movable object detector for detecting for a movable object that approaches from a direction lateral to the own vehicle;
• a side collision determination section for determining whether or not a risk that the own vehicle and the movable object collide with each other is high, when the laterally-existing movable object detector has detected the movable object that approaches from the direction lateral to the own vehicle;
• an automatic deceleration section for starting a deceleration control for automatically decelerating the own vehicle, when the side collision determination section determines that the risk that the own vehicle and the movable object collide with each other, is high,
• a passage and avoidance determination section for determining, while the deceleration control for the own vehicle is being executed by the automatic deceleration section, whether or not a possibility that the own vehicle passes in front of the movable object and a collision between the own vehicle and the movable object can be avoided if an accelerated state or a decelerated state of the own vehicle is changed, is high;
• and
• an accelerated state/decelerated state controller for controlling the automatic deceleration section so as to reduce a deceleration of the own vehicle when the passage and avoidance determination section determines that the collision between the own vehicle and the movable object can be avoided by the accelerated state or the decelerated state of the own vehicle being changed.