US Patent 8972076 Driving assistance apparatus and driving assistance method

A driving assistance apparatus that assists driving of a vehicle, includes: a vehicle speed sensor; a communication unit that obtains traffic light information relating to a change in a display condition of a traffic light disposed in an advancement direction of the vehicle; a position calculation unit that calculates relative position information between the vehicle and a traffic light location where the traffic light is disposed; and a passage assistance control unit. The passage assistance control unit detects an operating condition of the vehicle at an intersection location before the traffic light, calculates a corrected vehicle speed on the basis of the operating condition and a current vehicle speed, and determines whether or not the vehicle is permitted to pass through the traffic light location on the basis of the corrected vehicle speed, the relative position information between the vehicle and the traffic light location, and the traffic light information.