VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE, VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Abstract

A vehicle control device can perform driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces the possibility of collision against a target when a predetermined collision condition is determined, the target being present in a front side region extending from an oblique left front side to an oblique right front side of the vehicle so as to include a front side of the vehicle, and wherein the collision condition is determined when the possibility of collision is high. The vehicle control device includes a control unit configured to acquire first and second information when there is a possibility of collision against an intersecting, approaching target moving from a direction intersecting a traveling direction of the vehicle so as to approach a course of the vehicle, and to change the occurrence probability of the collision condition based on the first and second information.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a storage medium.2. Description of Related ArtIn the related art, a vehicle control device configured to execute driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces the possibility of collision against a target is known. In the vehicle control, for example, when a target with which a vehicle is likely to collide is detected in front of the vehicle, a braking force is automatically applied to the vehicle to avoid collision with the target. The vehicle controller includes a controller for reducing the possibility of collision by automatically applying the braking force (see, e.g., JP 2010-079 424 A).Further, a driver monitoring system is known from the related art, which monitors and alerts the state of a driver of a vehicle. The driver monitoring system is a system that recognizes a position and a direction of a face of the driver by performing image processing on an image captured by an in-vehicle camera and attracting attention based on the recognized information (see, e.g., JP 2006-227 905 A).SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONWhen the vehicle control is executed, a collision of a vehicle with a target can be avoided, which increases the driving safety. On the other hand, when the vehicle control is executed even though a driver has recognized the destination, the execution of the control is an unnecessary operation for the driver. For example, a case is considered in which a target travels from a direction crossing a traveling direction of the vehicle so as to approach a course of the vehicle. In such a case, the vehicle control is executed even though the driver has already recognized the target and attempts to start a driving operation (e.g., braking) to avoid a collision with the target in short. This gives the driver the feeling that the execution of the control is unnecessary. Note that such a target is referred to as a "crossing approaching target" in the following description.Here, a technique is known in which a warning is issued to a driver when the driver monitoring system determines that the driver is in a state in which he cannot perform the driving operation, and the vehicle control is performed when the state has continued for a predetermined period of time even after the warning. However, with the technique, unnecessary operation of the vehicle controller with respect to the crossing approaching target cannot be prevented, and thus there is room for improvement.The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem. In other words, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of preventing unnecessary operation of the vehicle controller with respect to a crossing approaching target.A vehicle control device according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "device of the present invention") is capable of executing driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces a possibility of a collision of a vehicle (V) against a target when a predetermined collision condition is determined, the target being in a front side region extending from an obliquely left front side to an obliquely right front side of the vehicle so as to include a front side of the vehicle, and the collision condition being determined when the possibility of the collision is high, the vehicle control device including a control unit configured to acquire: first information including a relative position of a crossing approaching target (Va) with respect to the vehicle, and second information including a direction of a face of a driver of the vehicle (S 420), when there is a possibility of collision against the intersecting approaching target (S 415: Yes), wherein the intersecting approaching target is a target traveling from a direction intersecting a traveling direction of the vehicle so as to approach a course of the vehicle; and change the occurrence probability of the collision condition based on the first information and the second information (S 435).In the apparatus of the present invention, when there is a possibility of collision against the crossing approaching target, the occurrence probability of the collision condition of the vehicle control (in other words, a start timing of the vehicle control) is changed based on the first information and the second information. Here, the first information includes the relative position of the crossing approaching target with respect to the vehicle, and the second information includes the direction of the face of the driver. Using the first information and the second information makes it possible to estimate the degree of likelihood that the driver has already recognized the crossing approaching target. Thus, according to a configuration of the apparatus of the present invention, the start timing of the vehicle control can be changed based on the "degree of possibility that the driver has recognized the crossing approaching target", which results in that unnecessary operation of the vehicle control with respect to the crossing approaching target can be prevented.In one aspect of the present invention, the control unit is configured to: calculate a difference (θdiff) between a direction from the vehicle toward the crossing approaching target and the direction of the face of the driver on the basis of the difference between the first information and the second information; and change the occurrence probability of the collision condition on the basis of the difference.In this configuration, the occurrence probability of the collision condition of the vehicle controller (start timing of the vehicle controller) is changed based on the direction from the vehicle toward the crossing approaching target and the direction of the face of the driver. The driver recognizes the crossing approaching target by rotating his face in a direction in which the crossing approaching target exists. Thus, the difference functions as a scale indicating "to what extent the driver turns his face in the direction in which the crossing approaching target exists.". Thus, according to this configuration, a "degree of possibility that the driver has recognized the crossing approaching target" can be determined with high accuracy, so that the start timing of the vehicle control can be changed accordingly. As a result, unnecessary operation of the vehicle controller with respect to the crossing approaching target can be more properly prevented.In one aspect of the present invention, the control unit is configured to make it more difficult for the collision condition to be determined as the difference (θdiff) decreases.In this configuration, the determination of the collision condition is made difficult (in other words, the start timing of the vehicle control is delayed) as the difference decreases. The "difference decreases" means that the "driver turns his face in the direction in which the crossing approaching target exists". That is, the probability that the driver recognizes the crossing approaching target becomes higher. According to this configuration, the start timing of the vehicle control becomes higher later than the possibility that the driver has recognized the crossing approaching target, so that it is possible to more appropriately prevent unnecessary operations of the vehicle control with respect to the crossing approaching target.A vehicle control method of the present invention is capable of executing driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces a possibility of collision of a vehicle (V) against a target when a predetermined collision condition is determined, the target being present in a front side region extending from an obliquely left front side to an obliquely right front side of the vehicle so as to include a front side of the vehicle, and the collision condition being determined when the possibility of collision is high, the vehicle control method including: acquiring first information including a relative position of a crossing approaching target (Va) with respect to the vehicle and second information including a direction of a face of a driver of the vehicle (S 420) when there is a possibility of collision against the crossing approaching target (S 415: Yes), wherein the crossing approaching target is a target traveling from a direction crossing a traveling direction of the vehicle so as to approach a course of the vehicle; and changing the occurrence probability of the collision condition based on the first information and the second information (S 435).According to the vehicle control method, it is possible to appropriately prevent unnecessary operation of the vehicle control with respect to the crossing approaching target.A storage medium of the present invention stores a vehicle control program configured to execute driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces a possibility of collision of a vehicle (V) against a target when a predetermined collision condition is determined, the target being in a front side region extending from an obliquely left front side to an obliquely right front side of the vehicle so as to include a front side of the vehicle, and wherein the collision condition is determined when the possibility of collision is high, the vehicle control program executing a computer: acquiring first information including a relative position of a crossing approaching target (Va) with respect to the vehicle and second information including a direction of a face of a driver of the vehicle (S 420), when a possibility of collision against the crossing, The approaching target is constituted (S 415: Yes), wherein the intersecting approaching target is a target traveling from a direction intersecting a traveling direction of the vehicle so as to approach a heading of the vehicle; and changing the occurrence probability of the collision condition based on the first information and the second information (S 435).According to the storage medium, it is possible to appropriately prevent unnecessary operation of the vehicle controller with respect to the crossing approaching target.While in the above description, the reference numerals used in the embodiment are attached in brackets to the components of the invention corresponding to the embodiment to facilitate understanding of the invention, the components of the invention are not limited to those indicated by the reference numerals.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURESFeatures, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like elements, and in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a target angle, a face angle, and a difference angle; FIG. 3 is a map indicating a relationship between the differential angle and a delay time; and FIG. 4 is a flowchart indicating a routine executed by a CPU of a vehicle control ECU.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTSConfigurationA vehicle control device (hereinafter, also referred to as a "present device") according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the figures. The present apparatus is mounted on a vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present device includes a vehicle controller ECU 10, an environmental sensor 20, a vehicle state sensor 30, a driver monitoring system 40, a driving device 50, and a braking device 60. The vehicle controller ECU 10 includes a microcomputer as a main component. The microcomputer includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an interface (I / F), and the like, and implements various kinds of functions by the CPU executing instructions (programs, routines) stored in the ROM. The ROM and the RAM are an example of a storage medium. Hereinafter, a vehicle in which the present apparatus is mounted will be referred to as an "own vehicle".The vehicle controller ECU 10 is configured to acquire the signals output from the sensors 20 and 30 and the system 40 each time a predetermined period of time has elapsed, and control the devices 50 and 60 based on the acquired signals. Hereinafter, the vehicle controller ECU 10 is also referred to simply as "ECU 10".The surrounding sensor 20 includes a camera sensor 21 and a radar sensor 22. The camera sensor 21 captures an image of the landscape in a front side area of the own vehicle (area extending from an obliquely left front side to an obliquely right front side of the own vehicle so as to include a front side of the own vehicle), and recognizes a three-dimensional object present in the area on the basis of the captured image data. The three-dimensional object includes a moving object. The moving object is another vehicle, a bicycle, a pedestrian, or the like. When the three-dimensional object is detected, the camera sensor 21 calculates a relative relationship (a relative position and a relative speed of the three-dimensional object with respect to the own vehicle) between the own vehicle and the three-dimensional object. Note that the camera sensor 21 may be configured to recognize a type of the three-dimensional object. In addition, the three-dimensional object may include a stationary object. The stationary object is, for example, a traffic light, a road sign, and a structure (such as a guardrail, a curb, and a median strip).Further, the camera sensor 21 recognizes compartment lines in front of the own vehicle based on the image data, and calculates a shape of a lane (region between two adjacent compartment lines) based on the recognized compartment lines.The radar sensor 22 is installed at each of right and left corners of the front end of the own vehicle. The radar sensor 22 irradiates an area around the own vehicle (more specifically, an area including the front side area) with a radio wave in a millimeter wave band. When a three-dimensional object exists within the irradiation range of the radio wave, the radar sensor 22 receives a reflected wave from the three-dimensional object. The radar sensor 22 calculates a relative relationship between the own vehicle and the three-dimensional object on the basis of an irradiation timing, a reception timing, and the like of the radio wave. In other words, the radar sensor 22 detects an existing three-dimensional object around the own vehicle.The surrounding sensor 20 acquires information regarding the three-dimensional object acquired from the camera sensor 21 and the radar sensor 22, respectively, as surrounding information, and outputs the information to the ECU 10. Note that the environment sensor 20 may include a LiDAR instead of or in addition to the camera sensor 21 and / or the radar sensor 22. In the following description, the three-dimensional object detected by the surrounding sensor 20 is referred to as a "target".The vehicle state sensor 30 includes an accelerator operation amount sensor 31, a steering angle sensor 32, a vehicle speed sensor 33, and a yaw rate sensor 34. The steering angle sensor 32 detects a steering angle in accordance with the steering operation (operation of a steering wheel) by a driver. The vehicle speed sensor 33 detects a speed (vehicle speed) of the own vehicle. The yaw rate sensor 34 detects a yaw rate of the own vehicle. In other words, the vehicle state sensor 30 detects a plurality of vehicle states depending on the driving style of the driver. The vehicle state sensor 30 acquires information regarding the detected vehicle states as vehicle state information, and outputs the information to the ECU 10.The driver monitoring system 40 includes an in-vehicle camera 41 and an image processor 42. the in-vehicle camera 41 is a near-infrared CCD camera installed on a steering column cover (not shown). The in-vehicle camera 41 is capable of capturing an image of a predetermined area including a face of the driver each time a predetermined image period has elapsed. The image data captured by the in-vehicle camera 41 is transmitted to the image processor 42. The image processor 42 calculates a direction of the face of the driver (e.g., which is viewed from the right and which is viewed from the left with respect to an anterior-posterior axis of the own vehicle of the driver) and an angle (which will be described later) of the direction of the face by performing image processing of the image data by a known method. The driver monitoring system 40 acquires information including the calculated direction of the face of the driver and the angle of the direction of the face as driver information, and outputs the information to the ECU 10. The driver information corresponds to an example of "second information".The driving device 50 is a device for applying driving force to a driving wheel to drive the own vehicle. The ECU 10 controls the driving force applied to the driving wheel by controlling the operation of the driving device 50. Note that the type of the own vehicle is not particularly limited. The own vehicle may be, for example, a motor vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), a battery electric vehicle (BEV), or the like.The brake device 60 is a device for applying the braking force for braking the own vehicle to the wheels. The ECU 10 controls the braking force to be applied to the wheels by controlling the operation of the brake device 60.Details of OperationThe ECU 10 is configured to execute driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces a possibility of collision when a predetermined collision condition (condition determined when the possibility of collision against a target is high) is determined for the detected target on the basis of the surrounding information. In the present embodiment, the vehicle control means automatic brake control (i.e., control for automatically applying the braking force to the own vehicle). However, the vehicle controller may also include, for example, automatic steering control (control for automatically changing the steering angle of the steering wheels of the own vehicle) in addition to or instead of the automatic brake control. Alternatively, the vehicle controller may include other types of controllers.When the vehicle control is executed, a collision of the own vehicle with the target can be avoided, which increases the driving safety. On the other hand, when the vehicle control is executed even though the driver has recognized the destination, the execution of the control becomes an unnecessary operation for the driver. An example of such a situation is the case that the target is a crossing approaching target. The crossing approaching target is a target moving from a direction crossing a traveling direction of the own vehicle to approach a course of the own vehicle. When the probability that the driver has recognized the crossing approaching target is high, execution of the vehicle control is preferably prohibited.That is, in the present embodiment, the ECU 10 is configured to be capable of determining a "degree of possibility that the driver has recognized the crossing approaching target" on the basis of the surrounding information (specifically, crossing approaching target information described later) and the driver information, and changing a start timing of the vehicle control on the basis of the degree. In other words, the collision condition is determined when a "time to collision (TTC)" is equal to or less than a "predetermined time to collision threshold (TTCth)", but in the related art, TTCth is a fixed value. In contrast, in the present embodiment, instead of TTCth, a variable time-to-collision threshold (TTCthv) is used, which becomes smaller the higher the "degree of possibility that the driver has recognized the crossing approaching target" is. According to this configuration, the determination of TTC≤ TTCthv becomes more difficult as the degree becomes higher, and the start timing of the vehicle control becomes later. Thus, the driver can perform driving (typically, braking) operations for avoiding collision with the crossing approaching target before the vehicle control is started (executed), resulting in that unnecessary operation of the vehicle control can be avoided. Note that TTC is a time period that is expected to be required until the own vehicle collides with the target. It can be calculated by dividing the "relative distance of the own vehicle to the target" by the "relative speed of the target to the own vehicle".A more detailed description will be given below. First, the ECU 10 recognizes a crossing approaching target on the basis of the surrounding information. Specifically, the ECU 10 calculates a traveling direction of the target on the basis of the temporal transition of a relative position of the target on the basis of the surrounding information. Then, the ECU 10 determines whether the target moves "from a direction crossing the traveling direction of the own vehicle to approach the own vehicle's course" based on the relative position and the traveling direction of the target. In a positive determination result, the ECU 10 determines that the target is a "candidate for the crossing approaching target". When the positive determination result is obtained over a plurality of cycles, the ECU 10 recognizes the target as the crossing approaching target. This increases the detection accuracy for the crossing approaching target. Once the target is recognized as the crossing approaching target, the ECU 10 recognizes the target as the crossing approaching target without performing the determination for the target thereafter. The ECU 10 acquires information including the relative position for the crossing approaching target among the surrounding information as the crossing approaching target. Information on the crossing approaching destination corresponds to an example of "first information".Then, the ECU 10 determines whether there is a possibility of collision against the detected crossing approaching target. Specifically, the ECU 10 calculates each of a trajectory of the own vehicle and a trajectory of the crossing approaching target. The own vehicle trajectory may be calculated based on a turning radius of the own vehicle. The turning radius may be calculated based on the vehicle speed and the yaw rate included in the vehicle state information. The trajectory for the crossing approaching target may be calculated based on a temporal transition of an "absolute position (bearing and distance) included in the relative position for information on the crossing approaching target.". The trajectory from the crossing approaching target is typically a velocity vector. The ECU 10 determines whether the own vehicle collides with the target when the own vehicle travels while maintaining a current traveling state and the crossing approaching target moves while maintaining a current traveling state on the basis of these trajectories. In a positive determination result, the ECU 10 determines that there is the possibility of collision against the crossing approaching target.When it is determined that there is a possibility of collision, the ECU 10 calculates the crossing approaching target variable threshold TTCthv. A specific description will be given with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 illustrates a scene in which an own vehicle V and a crossing approaching target Va are traveling at predetermined vehicle speeds, respectively. It is determined that there is a possibility of collision against the crossing approaching target Va. In this case, the ECU 10 calculates a target angle θtgt on the basis of the vehicle state information and the information concerning the crossing approaching target, and acquires a face angle θfc of a driver D from the driver information.The target angle θtgt is indicated as an angle formed by a "direction from the own vehicle V toward the crossing approaching target Va" based on the "traveling direction of the own vehicle V". The target angle θtgt is calculated as a positive value when the target is on a left side with respect to the traveling direction of the own vehicle V, and is calculated as a negative value when the target is on a right side. In the example in FIG. 2, an arrow A 1 extending from a predetermined position Pf of the face of the driver D (more specifically, substantially the center of the face in plan view) parallel to front and rear axes A of the own vehicle V represents the "traveling direction of the own vehicle V". Further, an arrow A 2 from the position Pf toward a position Pp of the crossing approaching target Va represents the "traveling direction of the own vehicle V toward the crossing approaching target Va". In other words, in the present embodiment, the position Pf is used as the position of the own vehicle V and the position Pp is used as the position of the target Va. The position Pp may be set at a position of the target Va to which the distance to the own vehicle V is the smallest. The target angle θtgt may be calculated based on a unit speed vector of the own vehicle V calculated based on the vehicle state information and a unit vector of the arrow A 2 calculated based on the crossing approaching target information.The face angle θfc is indicated as an angle formed by a "direction of the face of the driver D" based on the "traveling direction of the own vehicle V". In the example in FIG. 2, an arrow A 3 extending from the position Pf toward the face of the driver D represents the "direction of the face of the driver D". The controller 10 acquires a value of the face angle acquired by the driver monitoring system 40 as the face angle θfc. The face angle θfc is calculated as a positive value when the face is directed toward the left side with respect to the traveling direction of the own vehicle V, and is calculated as a negative value when the face is directed toward the right side.Subsequently, the ECU 10 calculates a magnitude of a difference between the target angle θtgt and the face angle θfc as the difference angle θdiff (θdiff=|θtgt-θfc|). Then, the ECU 10 reads out a delay time Δt corresponding to a value of the calculated θdiff with reference to the map indicated in FIG. 3. The map indicates a relationship between the differential angle θdiff and the delay time Δt, and is stored in the ROM of the ECU 10 in advance.As indicated in FIG. 3, the differential angle θdiff n has predetermined values θk (k is an integer from 1 to n). θ1=0, and θk<θk+1 is determined. θn can be set based on an upper limit value of the target angle θtgt and an upper limit value of the face angle θfc. These upper limit values can be determined on the basis of an experiment or a simulation. A value of θk+1-θkmay be fixed or may change depending on a value of k. On the other hand, the delay time Δt has n values tk (k is an integer from 1 to n) which are set in advance. tn≥0, and tk>tk+1 is determined. A value of tkmay be determined based on an experiment or a simulation. A value of tk+1-tkmay be fixed or may change depending on the value of k. θkcorresponds to tk. When a value of the differential angle θdiff satisfies θk≤ θdiff< θk+1, tk is read out as the delay time Δt corresponding to the differential angle θdiff.When the delay time Δt is read out, the ECU 10 determines whether the collision condition for the crossing approaching target for which a possibility of collision has been determined is determined. When the target is the crossing approaching target, the ECU 10 determines whether TTC≤ TTCthv is determined by using TTCthv that is a variable value instead of using TTCth that is a fixed value, and determines that the collision condition is determined when a positive determination result is obtained. In this case, the ECU 10 executes the vehicle control. This reduces a possibility of collision against the crossing approaching target.TTCthv may be calculated by subtracting the delay time Δt from TTCth. In other words, TTCthv decreases as the delay time Δt increases. In other words, the determination of the collision condition becomes more difficult as the delay time Δt increases. This configuration makes it more difficult to execute the vehicle control as the delay time Δt increases.Specific OperationThe specific control of the control unit 10 is described below. The CPU of the ECU 10 executes the routine indicated in the flowchart in FIG. 4 while detecting the crossing approaching target. At a predetermined time, the process proceeds from step 400 to step 405, and the CPU determines whether a value of a crossing approaching target flag X (IT: flag) (when there are a plurality of crossing approaching targets, each crossing approaching target) included in the crossing approaching target information is zero. The flag X is a flag for discriminating whether the crossing approaching target is a newly detected target. When the crossing approaching destination is newly detected in a current cycle, the value of the flag X is set to zero. If the crossing approaching target has already been recognized in the past cycles, the value of the flag X is set to 1. If the flag X is 0 (S405: Yes), the process proceeds to step 410 and the CPU sets the value of the flag X to 1.Then, the process proceeds to step 415, and the CPU determines whether there is a possibility of collision based on the above-described method. When it is determined that there is a possibility of collision (S 415: Yes), the CPU successively executes the following processing from step 420 to step 430. - step 420: calculate the target angle θtgt on the basis of the vehicle state information and the intersecting approaching target information, and acquire the face angle θfc of the driver D from the driver information (see FIG. 2 ) - step 425: calculate the difference angle θdiff (=|θtgt - θfc|) using the target angle θtgt calculated in step 420 and the acquired face angle θfc (see FIG. 2 ) - step 430: read out the delay time Δt corresponding to the difference angle θdiff calculated in step 425, with reference to the map (see FIG. 3 )Then, the process proceeds to step 435, and the CPU determines whether TTC≤ TTCthv is determined. TTCthv is a value resulting from subtracting the delay time Δt read out in step 430 from TTCth, which is a predetermined fixed value. When TTC≤ TTCthv is determined (S 354: YES), the CPU determines that the collision condition is determined, the process proceeds to step 440, and the CPU executes the vehicle control. Then, the process proceeds to step 495, and the CPU once terminates the current routine.On the other hand, when it is determined in step 415 that there is no possibility of collision (S 415: NO), and it is determined in step 435 that TTC> TTCthv (S 354: NO), the process proceeds to step 495, and the CPU once ends the present routine.In contrast, when the flag X=1 in step 405 (S 405: No), the process proceeds to step 445, and the CPU calculates (updates) the relative position and the relative speed of the crossing approaching target based on the information of the crossing approaching target. Then, the process proceeds to step 415, and the CPU performs the above-described processing and executes the vehicle control when the collision condition is determined during the process of the processing.The effects of the present apparatus on operation will be described. The present device makes it difficult to determine the collision condition (in other words, delays the start timing of the vehicle control) because the differential angle θdiff between the target angle θtgt and the face angle θfc decreases. The "difference angle θdiff decreases" means that the "driver turns his face in a direction in which the crossing approaching target exists". That is, the probability that the driver recognizes the crossing approaching target becomes higher. According to this configuration, the start timing of the vehicle control becomes later as the possibility that the driver has recognized the crossing approaching target becomes higher, so that it is possible to appropriately prevent unnecessary operation of the vehicle control with respect to the crossing approaching target.While the vehicle control device, the vehicle control method, and the vehicle control program according to the embodiment have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various changes may be made without departing from the subject matter of the present invention.Further, the present invention can also be applied to a vehicle capable of autonomous driving.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedJP 2010-079 424 A

[0002] JP 2006-227 905 A

[0003]

Claims

A vehicle control device configured to execute driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces a possibility of collision of a vehicle against a target when a predetermined collision condition occurs, the target being present in a front side area extending from an obliquely left front side to an obliquely right front side of the vehicle so as to include a front side of the vehicle, and the collision condition being determined when the possibility of collision is high, wherein the vehicle control device comprises a control unit configured to: acquire first information including a relative position of a crossing approaching target with respect to the vehicle and second information including a direction of a face of a driver of the vehicle when there is a possibility of collision against the crossing approaching target, the crossing approaching target being a target, which travels from a direction crossing a traveling direction of the vehicle so as to approach a course of the vehicle; and changing an occurrence probability of the collision condition based on the first information and the second information.The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to: calculate a difference between a direction from the vehicle toward the crossing approaching target and the direction of the face of the driver based on the first information and the second information; and change the occurrence probability of the collision condition based on the difference.The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to make the occurrence probability of the collision condition difficult when the difference decreases.A vehicle control method configured to execute driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces a possibility of collision of a vehicle against a target when a predetermined collision condition occurs, the target being present in a front side region extending from an obliquely left front side to an obliquely right front side of the vehicle so as to include a front side of the vehicle, and the collision condition occurring when the possibility of collision is high, the vehicle control method comprising: acquiring first information including a relative position of a crossing approaching target with respect to the vehicle and second information including a direction of a face of a driver of the vehicle when there is a possibility of collision against the crossing approaching target, the crossing approaching target being a target, which travels from a direction crossing a traveling direction of the vehicle so as to approach a course of the vehicle; and changing an occurrence probability of the collision condition based on the first information and the second information.A storage medium storing a vehicle control program configured to execute driving assistance-related vehicle control that reduces a possibility of collision of a vehicle against a target when a predetermined collision condition occurs, the target being present in a front side area extending from an obliquely left front side to an obliquely right front side of the vehicle so as to include a front side of the vehicle, and the collision condition occurring when the possibility of collision is high, the vehicle control program causing a computer to execute the steps of: - acquiring first information including a relative position of a crossing approaching target with respect to the vehicle and second information including a direction of a face of a driver of the vehicle when there is a possibility of collision against the crossing approaching target, the crossing approaching target being a target, which travels from a direction crossing a traveling direction of the vehicle so as to approach a course of the vehicle; and changing an occurrence probability of the collision condition based on the first information and the second information.

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