VEHICLE DRIVE ASSIST APPARATUS

A surrounding environment recognition device recognizes a surrounding environment around a vehicle. A traveling control unit centrally controls a whole of the entire vehicle. An obstacle presumer presumes presence of an obstacle ahead of the vehicle based on a behavior distribution of preceding vehicles recognized by the surrounding environment recognition device, and estimates a position and an area where the obstacle is present when the presence of the obstacle is presumed. A traveling path calculator calculates candidates for traveling path areas along which the vehicle is expected to travel while avoiding collision with the presumed obstacle. A traveling path selector selects a traveling path area from among the calculated traveling path areas and sets the selected traveling path area. The traveling control unit controls the vehicle to travel along the set traveling path area.