IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS

In order to extract, given information from a stereo camera, only the headlights of an oncoming vehicle or the taillights of a preceding vehicle from various light spot at night for the purpose of offering the driver a safer field of view, there are provided: first distance information calculation means which calculates information on a first distance to a detection object candidate from two images obtained by a first imaging element and a second imaging element; second distance information calculation means which calculates information on a second distance to the detection object candidate from the image obtained by the first imaging element; and object detection means which compares the first distance information with the second distance information to detect the object from the detection object candidate on the basis of the result of the comparison.