Longitudinal Acceleration Control for Autonomous Driving

A method of setting a target longitudinal acceleration of a vehicle travelling along a road behind a leading vehicle, comprising: determining a lateral position of the leading vehicle; defining a lateral range extending from the leading vehicle and having a first subrange, a second subrange and a central subrange therebetween, wherein the lateral range increases with lateral distance of the leading vehicle from a centre of a lane in which the leading vehicle is located when the leading vehicle is changing lanes; determining a longitudinal range extending behind the leading vehicle; and setting the target longitudinal acceleration, for any longitudinal position of the host vehicle within the longitudinal range, to: a first value if a lateral position of the host vehicle is within the central subrange; and a second value greater than the first value if the lateral position is within the first or second subrange.