Patent attributes
A vehicle control apparatus includes a vehicle speed control unit for controlling the speed of a vehicle, and provisional and final anomaly determination units for determining whether or not a driver of the vehicle is in a provisional anomalous state or in a final anomalous state in which the driver has lost his/her ability to drive the vehicle. After the driver is determined to be in the provisional anomalous state, the vehicle speed control unit decelerates the vehicle at a first deceleration before the driver is determined to be in the final anomalous state. When the vehicle speed becomes lower than a second vehicle speed, the vehicle speed control unit maintains the vehicle speed at the second vehicle speed. After the driver is determined to be in the final anomalous state, the vehicle control apparatus decelerates the vehicle at a second deceleration and stops the vehicle.