JP2020129178A - Travel state determination device, driving support device, travel state determination method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a travel state determination device capable of appropriately determining whether or not an avoidance operation to avoid a rear vehicle has to be performed.SOLUTION: A travel state determination device includes: an own vehicle travel information acquisition section for acquiring own vehicle travel information including a travel speed of an own vehicle; a rear vehicle travel information acquisition section for confirming presence/absence of a rear vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle in a rear predetermined range of the own vehicle, so as to acquire vehicle travel information of the rear vehicle when the rear vehicle exists; and a relative travel state determination section for determining whether or not an avoidance operation to avoid the rear vehicle is to be recommended based on own vehicle travel information and rear vehicle travel information. When the rear vehicle travel information acquisition section confirms existence of a rear vehicle and also when a relative travel speed being a difference between a travel speed of the rear vehicle and a travel speed of the own vehicle is equal to or more than a first threshold or an amount of a change of the relative travel speed is equal to or more than a second threshold, the relative travel state determination section determines that an avoidance operation is to be recommended.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a traveling state determination device, a driving support device, a traveling state determination method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, development of technology relating to automatic vehicle driving control has been advanced. In the automatic driving control of the vehicle, it is necessary to consider the relationship with the rear vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of measuring a vehicle-to-vehicle distance to a following vehicle and issuing a warning.

JP, 2017-010463, A

However, by simply measuring the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the rear vehicle as in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, whether or not the avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle should be performed in the automatic driving control of the vehicle. In some cases, it could not be judged properly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a traveling state determination device capable of appropriately determining whether or not an avoidance operation for avoiding a rear vehicle should be performed.

A traveling state determination device according to the present invention includes an own-vehicle traveling information acquisition unit that obtains own-vehicle traveling information including a traveling speed of an own vehicle, and a rear traveling behind the own vehicle in a predetermined range behind the own vehicle. A rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit that confirms the presence/absence of a vehicle and acquires rear vehicle traveling information of the rear vehicle when there is the rear vehicle, and the rear portion based on the own vehicle traveling information and the rear vehicle traveling information. A relative traveling state determination unit that determines whether an avoidance operation for avoiding the vehicle is recommended, and the relative traveling state determination unit confirms that the rear vehicle is present by the rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit. And the relative traveling speed, which is the difference between the traveling speed of the rear vehicle and the traveling speed of the host vehicle, is equal to or greater than a first threshold value or the amount of change in the relative traveling speed is equal to or greater than a second threshold value, It is determined that the avoidance action is recommended.

A traveling state determination method according to the present invention includes a first step of acquiring own vehicle traveling information including a traveling speed of the own vehicle, and a rear vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle in a predetermined range behind the own vehicle. The second step of confirming the presence/absence of the vehicle, and acquiring the vehicle traveling information of the vehicle behind the vehicle if there is the vehicle behind, and the third step of determining whether or not the vehicle behind is approaching the host vehicle. The third step, in which the presence of the rear vehicle is confirmed in the second step, and the relative speed is a difference between the traveling speed of the rear vehicle and the traveling speed of the host vehicle. When the traveling speed is equal to or higher than the first threshold value or the change amount of the relative traveling speed is equal to or higher than the second threshold value, it is determined that the avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle is recommended.

A program according to the present invention includes a first step of acquiring own vehicle traveling information including a traveling speed of the own vehicle, and a presence/absence of a rear vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle in a predetermined range behind the own vehicle. However, when there is the rear vehicle, the second step of acquiring the rear vehicle traveling information of the rear vehicle and the presence of the rear vehicle in the second step are confirmed, and the rear vehicle travels. If the relative traveling speed, which is the difference between the speed and the traveling speed of the host vehicle, is equal to or greater than a first threshold value or the amount of change in the relative traveling speed is equal to or greater than a second threshold value, an avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle is recommended. And causing the computer to execute the third step of determining that

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not an avoidance operation for avoiding a rear vehicle should be performed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a traveling state determination device according to the first embodiment. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for determining whether or not avoidance of a rear vehicle is necessary in the traveling state determination device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to a modified example 1 of the traveling state determination device according to the first embodiment. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for determining whether or not avoidance of a rear vehicle is necessary in the configuration according to the first modification of the traveling state determination device according to the first embodiment. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a driving support device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing relating to automatic driving control in the driving assistance apparatus according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are essential as means for solving the problem.

[Embodiment 1]
First, the configuration of the traveling state determination device according to the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a traveling state determination device 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling state determination device 10 includes an own vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 20, a rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 30, a relative traveling state determination unit 40, and an input unit 50.

The host vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 20 acquires host vehicle traveling information including the traveling speed of the host vehicle. The own vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 20 obtains the traveling information of the own vehicle via an in-vehicle network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), or by using an existing speed sensor or the like that measures the traveling speed of the own vehicle. It has a speed detection unit 21 that acquires the traveling speed.

The rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 30 confirms whether or not there is a rear vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle in a predetermined range behind the own vehicle, and when there is a rear vehicle, the rear vehicle traveling information including traveling speed of the rear vehicle. To get. The predetermined range is, for example, a range of a distance that is an appropriate inter-vehicle distance, and is within 80 m when traveling at a speed of 80 km/h. Further, the distance may be about 1.5 times or 2 times the appropriate inter-vehicle distance as a reference. The rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 30 includes a rear camera 31 that captures the rear of the host vehicle, a rear vehicle recognition unit 32 that recognizes the rear vehicle from the image captured by the rear camera 31, and a rear camera that captures the rear image from the image captured by the rear camera 31. A rear vehicle speed detector 33 that detects the vehicle speed or the relative speed between the own vehicle and the rear vehicle. When the rear vehicle is already installed in the vehicle or when a rear camera is provided as a separate body, a signal may be received from the rear camera, and the rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 30 does not include the rear camera 31. May be The rear camera 31 may be another type of sensor capable of distance measurement, such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) or millimeter wave radar.

The relative traveling state determination unit 40 avoids the rear vehicle based on the own vehicle traveling information acquired by the own vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 20 and the rear vehicle traveling information acquired by the rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 30. It is determined whether the avoidance action is recommended. Here, the avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle is, for example, an operation of giving way to the rear vehicle by changing lanes or stopping on the shoulder of the road, or increasing the traveling speed of the own vehicle within an appropriate range. .. The input unit 50 is a switch for turning on/off the determination mode. When the determination mode is turned on, the traveling state determination device 10 executes a process of determining whether or not an avoidance operation for avoiding a rear vehicle is necessary. The determination mode may be always on or may be automatically turned on according to the running of the vehicle.

Next, a process of determining whether or not the avoidance operation of the rear vehicle is recommended in the traveling state determination device 10 will be described. In the following description, FIG. 1 will be referred to as appropriate.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the traveling state determination device 10 according to the first embodiment for determining whether or not a backward vehicle avoidance operation is recommended.

As shown in FIG. 2, first, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines whether or not the determination mode is on (step S101). If it is determined in step S101 that the determination mode is on, the determination mode is started (step S102). If the determination mode is off in step S101, the process ends.

Following step S102, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines whether or not the rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 30 has confirmed the rear vehicle (step S103). If it is determined in step S103 that the rear vehicle has not been confirmed, the process returns to step S101. When it is determined in step S103 that the rear vehicle is confirmed, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines whether the relative traveling speed is equal to or higher than the first threshold value or the relative traveling speed change amount is equal to or higher than the second threshold value. The determination is made (step S104). Here, the relative traveling speed is a difference between the traveling speed of the rear vehicle and the traveling speed of the host vehicle, and has a positive value when the traveling speed of the rear vehicle is faster than the traveling speed of the own vehicle. Instead of the determination in step 104, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines by determining that the inter-vehicle distance between the rear vehicle and the host vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, or by measuring the duration of the state. Good.

When it is not determined in step S104 that the relative traveling speed is equal to or higher than the first threshold value or the variation amount of the relative traveling speed is equal to or higher than the second threshold value, the process is returned to step S101. When it is determined in step S104 that the relative traveling speed is equal to or more than the first threshold value or the variation amount of the relative traveling speed is equal to or more than the second threshold value, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 recommends the avoidance operation of the rear vehicle. (Step S105). Following step S105, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 commands the operation control device 70 to perform an avoidance operation for avoiding a rear vehicle (step S106), and returns the process to step S101.

In step S105, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines whether the traveling speed of the host vehicle is equal to or lower than the predetermined value by a step (not shown) that determines whether the traveling speed of the host vehicle is equal to or lower than the predetermined value. It may be determined that the traveling of the host vehicle is an obstacle to traveling of the rear vehicle, and it is determined that the avoidance operation of the rear vehicle is recommended. Here, the predetermined value is, for example, a lower limit value of an appropriate traveling speed range based on the legal speed of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. In other words, if the traveling speed of the host vehicle is less than or equal to the predetermined value, it is likely that the traveling speed of the host vehicle is slower than the legal speed of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, which is an obstacle to the traveling of the rear vehicle. Conceivable. Further, in step S105, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines that the avoidance operation of the rear vehicle is recommended, and when the amount of change in the traveling speed of the own vehicle is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the traveling of the own vehicle is performed. May be determined to be an obstacle to the traveling of the rear vehicle. The fact that the amount of change in the traveling speed of the host vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is due to, for example, frequent changes in the host vehicle speed due to the gradient of the road or a short distance between the host vehicle and the vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle. It is a frequent occurrence of brake operation. When such a behavior of the own vehicle is present, it is considered that there is a high possibility that the rear vehicle is obstructed to travel.

By performing the processing described above, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle is to be performed. The operation control device 70 receives a command from the traveling state determination device 10 that recommends the avoidance operation of the rear vehicle so as to prevent the rear vehicle from driving such that the rear vehicle brakes during the automatic drive control. It is possible to drive in consideration of the vehicle behind.

[Modification 1]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to the first modification of the traveling state determination device 10. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 gives a command to the operation control device 70, whereas in the configuration according to the first modification shown in FIG. 3, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 outputs an alarm device. 80 is instructed. The alarm device 80 is installed inside or outside the vehicle. The configuration according to the first modification is applied to a normal vehicle that does not support automatic driving control.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process for determining whether or not avoidance of a rear vehicle is necessary in the configuration according to the modified example 1 of the traveling state determination device 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the processing from step S201 to step S205 is the same as the processing from step S101 to step S105 in the flowchart shown in FIG. In the configuration according to the first modification of the traveling state determination device 10, the process of step S206 shown in FIG. 4 is executed instead of the process of step S106 shown in FIG. That is, in step 206, following step S205, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 commands the alarm device 80 to issue an alarm.

As described above, the alarm device 80 issues an alarm, thereby making it possible for the driver of the own vehicle to recognize that the avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle is recommended.

[Second Embodiment]
First, the configuration of the traveling state determination unit according to the second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driving support device 200 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the driving support device 200 includes a traveling state determination unit 210, an input unit 250, a front vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 260, a driving control unit 270, and an avoidance operation availability determination unit 280. ing.

The traveling state determination unit 210 performs a process of determining whether or not avoiding a rear vehicle is necessary. That is, the function of the traveling state determination device 10 according to the first embodiment is executed.

The input unit 250 is a switch for the driver to turn on/off the ACC (Auto Cruise Control) mode, and is for inputting the set speed of the own vehicle in the automatic driving control. When the driver turns on the ACC mode via the input unit 250, the operation control unit 270 starts the ACC mode. The front vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 260 confirms the presence or absence of a front vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle in a predetermined range in front of the own vehicle, and when there is a front vehicle, the front vehicle traveling information including the traveling speed of the front vehicle. To get.

The driving control unit 270 performs automatic driving control of the own vehicle based on the traveling speed of the own vehicle, the traveling information of the preceding vehicle and the set speed, and the command from the traveling state determination unit 210. The operation control unit 270 includes an accelerator control unit 271 that controls the accelerator of the own vehicle, a brake control unit 272 that controls the brake of the own vehicle, and a steering wheel control unit 273 that controls the steering wheel of the own vehicle.

The avoidance action availability determination unit 280 determines whether or not the own vehicle can perform the avoidance action based on the situation around the own vehicle. The avoidance operation availability determination unit 280 determines whether or not the own vehicle can perform the avoidance operation, for example, whether or not there is an adjacent lane on the road on which the own vehicle is running, or whether the lane can be changed to the adjacent lane. Depending on the difficulty. Specifically, the avoidance operation availability determination unit 280 acquires an image of the surroundings of the own vehicle including the front of the own vehicle by a front camera (not shown), recognizes the obtained image, and recognizes the obtained image, and the lane adjacent to the traveling road of the own vehicle. It is determined whether or not there is. Alternatively, the avoidance operation availability determination unit 280 acquires the current position by a GNSS reception unit (not shown) and refers to a map database (not shown) to determine whether or not there is an adjacent lane on the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Further, when there is an adjacent lane on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the avoidance operation availability determination unit 280 determines the adjacent lane from the image around the vehicle acquired by the front camera (not shown) and the rear camera 31 included in the traveling state determination unit 210. It is determined whether or not there is another vehicle traveling, and the inter-vehicle distance between the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane and the own vehicle is calculated by image recognition, and the lane change to the adjacent lane is performed depending on whether the inter-vehicle distance is sufficient. Determine if it is possible or difficult. The avoidance motion availability determination unit 280 determines that there is a sufficiently wide shoulder on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, not on the adjacent lane, that there is a space where parking and parking is possible, and that there is a rest area where parking and parking is possible. Good. When the avoidance operation availability determination unit 280 determines that it is difficult for the host vehicle to perform the avoidance operation, the driving control unit 270 determines that the traveling state determination unit 210 recommends the avoidance operation of the rear vehicle. Even if the vehicle is present, avoidance action to avoid the vehicle behind is not performed. Alternatively, when the avoidance operation availability determination unit 280 determines that it is difficult for the host vehicle to perform the avoidance operation, the traveling state determination unit 210 does not determine that the avoidance operation of the rear vehicle is recommended.

Next, a process related to automatic driving control in the driving support device 200 will be described. In the following description, FIG. 1 will be referred to as appropriate.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing relating to automatic driving control in the driving assistance apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the operation control unit 270 first determines whether or not the ACC mode is on (step S301). If it is determined in step S301 that the ACC mode is on, the ACC mode is started (step S302). If the ACC mode is off in step S301, the process ends.

Subsequent to step S302, the driving control unit 270 determines whether or not the front vehicle is approaching by the front vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 260 (step S303). When it is determined in step S303 that the preceding vehicle is approaching, the driving control unit 270 executes the inter-vehicle distance control (step S304). Here, the inter-vehicle distance control is to perform control so that the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle becomes appropriate. When it is determined in step S303 that the preceding vehicle is not approaching, the driving control unit 270 executes the set speed control (step S305). Here, the set speed control is to control the traveling speed of the host vehicle so as to reach the set traveling speed.

Subsequent to steps S304 and S305, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines whether or not the rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 30 has confirmed the rear vehicle (step S306). If it is determined in step S306 that the rear vehicle has not been confirmed, the process returns to step S301. When it is determined in step S306 that the rear vehicle has been confirmed, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines whether the relative traveling speed is equal to or higher than the first threshold value or the change amount of the relative traveling speed is equal to or higher than the second threshold value. The determination is made (step S307).

If it is not determined in step S307 that the relative traveling speed is equal to or higher than the first threshold value or the amount of change in relative traveling speed is equal to or higher than the second threshold value, the process is returned to step S301. When it is determined in step S307 that the relative traveling speed is equal to or more than the first threshold value or the variation amount of the relative traveling speed is equal to or more than the second threshold value, the relative traveling state determination unit 40 determines whether or not the rear vehicle can be avoided. Is determined (step S308).

When the avoidance operation availability determination unit 280 determines that the rear vehicle can be avoided in step S308, the operation control unit 270 performs the avoidance operation of controlling the accelerator, the brake, and the steering wheel to avoid the rear vehicle (step S309). , The process returns to step S301. If it is determined in step S308 that avoiding the rear vehicle is not possible, the process returns to step S301. If it is determined in step S308 that it is not possible to avoid the rear vehicle, a warning is issued before the process is returned to step S301, and the rear vehicle exists behind the own vehicle and is approaching. Moreover, the driver of the own vehicle may be informed that the avoidance operation is not possible at the present time. The driver of the own vehicle can consider measures such as increasing the traveling set speed of the own vehicle, and performing the avoiding operation as soon as the situation in which the avoiding operation is possible.

By performing the processing related to the automatic driving control described above, when the rear vehicle is approaching during the automatic driving control, the avoidance operation is performed to give way to the rear vehicle and prevent the rear vehicle from driving such as braking. As a result, it is possible to drive in consideration of the vehicle behind.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The plurality of examples described above can be implemented in combination as appropriate.

The processing in each unit of the vehicle driving state determination device according to the present invention can be realized by causing a computer or the like to execute a program. More specifically, it is realized by loading a program stored in the program memory for executing the process in each unit of the vehicle driving state determination device into the main storage device and executing the program under the control of the CPU. Here, the program may be stored using various types of non-transitory computer readable mediums and supplied to the computer. Non-transitory computer readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of the non-transitory computer-readable medium include a magnetic recording medium (for example, flexible disk, magnetic tape, hard disk drive), magneto-optical recording medium (for example, magneto-optical disk), CD-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R, It includes a CD-R/W and a semiconductor memory (for example, a mask ROM, a PROM (Programmable ROM), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), a flash ROM, and a RAM (Random Access Memory)). In addition, the program may be supplied to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable mediums. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transitory computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire and an optical fiber, or a wireless communication path. Further, the processing in each unit of the vehicle recording device is not limited to being realized by software by a program, but may be realized by any combination of hardware, firmware, and software.

10 Running state determination device 20 Own vehicle running information acquisition unit 21 Speed detection unit 30 Rear vehicle running information acquisition unit 31 Rear camera 32 Rear vehicle recognition unit 33 Rear vehicle speed detection unit 40 Relative running state determination unit 50 Input unit 70 Driving control device 80 Warning Device 200 Driving Assistance Device 210 Running State Determining Section 250 Input Section 260 Forward Vehicle Information Obtaining Section 260 Forward Vehicle Running Information Obtaining Section 270 Driving Control Section 271 Accelerator Control Section 272 Brake Control Section 273 Handle Control Section 280 Avoidance Action Possibility Determination Section

Claims (9)

A vehicle traveling information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle traveling information including the traveling speed of the vehicle;
A rear vehicle that confirms the presence of a rear vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle in a predetermined range behind the own vehicle, and acquires the rear vehicle traveling information including the traveling speed of the rear vehicle when the rear vehicle is present. A driving information acquisition unit,
A relative traveling state determination unit that determines whether or not an avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle is recommended based on the own vehicle traveling information and the rear vehicle traveling information,
The relative traveling state determination unit is confirmed by the rear vehicle traveling information acquisition unit that the rear vehicle is present, and the relative traveling speed that is the difference between the traveling speed of the rear vehicle and the traveling speed of the own vehicle is A traveling state determination device that determines that the avoidance operation is recommended when the amount of change in the relative traveling speed is equal to or more than a first threshold value or is equal to or more than a second threshold value. When the traveling speed of the host vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined value or the amount of change in the traveling speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the relative traveling state determination unit recommends the avoidance operation. The traveling state determination device according to claim 1, which is not determined. The relative traveling state determination unit further includes an avoidance operation availability determination unit that determines whether or not the own vehicle can perform an avoidance operation based on a situation around the own vehicle,
The relative traveling state determination unit does not determine that the avoidance operation is recommended when the avoidance operation availability determination unit determines that it is difficult for the host vehicle to perform the avoidance operation, The traveling state determination device according to 2. 4. The avoidance operation availability determination unit determines that the avoidance operation is recommended based on whether or not there is an adjacent lane on the road on which the vehicle is traveling or whether or not the lane can be changed to the adjacent lane. The running condition determination device described in 1. When the relative traveling state determination unit determines that the avoidance operation is recommended, the relative traveling state determination unit instructs a driving control device that performs automatic driving control of the own vehicle to perform an avoidance operation that avoids the rear vehicle. The traveling state determination device according to any one of items 1 to 4. When the relative traveling state determination unit determines that the avoidance operation is recommended, the relative traveling state determination unit commands an alarm device installed in at least one of the inside and the outside of the own vehicle to issue an alarm. 4. The traveling state determination device according to any one of 4 above. A driving control unit for automatic driving control of the own vehicle;
A traveling state determination device according to claim 5;
The driving support device, wherein the driving control unit performs an avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle when the relative traveling state determination unit determines that the avoidance operation is recommended. A first step of acquiring own vehicle traveling information including the traveling speed of the own vehicle;
Secondly, the presence or absence of a rear vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle in a predetermined range behind the own vehicle is confirmed, and when the rear vehicle is present, rear vehicle traveling information including traveling speed of the rear vehicle is acquired. Steps of
A third step of determining whether or not an avoiding operation for avoiding the rear vehicle is recommended based on the own vehicle traveling information and the rear vehicle traveling information,
In the third step, the presence of the rear vehicle is confirmed in the second step, and the relative traveling speed, which is the difference between the traveling speed of the rear vehicle and the traveling speed of the host vehicle, is a first threshold value. The running state determination method of determining that the avoidance operation is recommended when the amount of change in the relative traveling speed is equal to or more than the second threshold value or more. A first step of acquiring own vehicle traveling information including the traveling speed of the own vehicle;
A second step of confirming the presence or absence of a rear vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle in a predetermined range behind the own vehicle, and acquiring the vehicle traveling information of the rear vehicle if the rear vehicle is present;
It is confirmed in the second step that the rear vehicle is present, and the relative traveling speed, which is the difference between the traveling speed of the rear vehicle and the traveling speed of the host vehicle, is equal to or greater than a first threshold value or the relative traveling speed. And a third step of determining that the avoidance operation for avoiding the rear vehicle is recommended when the change amount of is greater than or equal to a second threshold value.

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