DRIVING ASSISTANCE APPARATUS

A driving assistance apparatus includes a driving environment information obtaining unit that obtains driving environment information ahead of a vehicle, a target object recognizer that recognizes a target object based on the driving environment information, an object detection area setter that sets an object detection area ahead of the vehicle, and a driving control arithmetic unit that controls a driving state of the vehicle when the target object is detected in the object detection area. The object detection area setter includes a stop area setter that sets a stop area, and a deceleration area setter that sets left and right deceleration areas. The driving control arithmetic unit includes a stop controller that controls the vehicle to stop when the target object is detected in the stop area, and a deceleration controller that controls the vehicle to decelerate when the target object is detected in at least one of the left and right deceleration areas.