VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE, VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD, AND VEHICLE CONTROL COMPUTER PROGRAM

To provide a vehicle control device capable of appropriately adjusting a relative positional relationship between an own vehicle and another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane merging with a lane in which the own vehicle is traveling.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device includes: a merging section detection unit 31 for detecting a merging section where an adjacent lane adjacent to an own lane in which an own vehicle 10 is traveling merges with the own lane in front of the own vehicle 10; an other vehicle detection unit 32 for detecting one or more other vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane; a determination unit 33 that determines, for at least any of the detected other vehicles, whether or not to cause the other vehicle to precede the own vehicle 10 when the other vehicle makes a lane change to the own lane in the merging section; and a vehicle control unit 34 for controlling acceleration or deceleration of the own vehicle 10 so that a rear end of the own vehicle 10 is positioned in front of a front end of a second other vehicle following a first other vehicle determined to precede the own vehicle 10 among the detected other vehicles.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3 【課題】自車両が走行中の車線に合流する隣接車線を走行する他の車両と自車両との相対的な位置関係を適切に調整することが可能な車両制御装置を提供する。【解決手段】車両制御装置は、自車両１０の前方において、自車両１０が走行中の自車線に隣接する隣接車線が自車線に合流する合流区間を検出する合流区間検出部３１と、隣接車線を走行する１台以上の他車両を検出する他車両検出部３２と、検出された他車両の少なくとも何れかについて、その他車両が合流区間において自車線へ車線変更する際に、その他車両を自車両１０に先行させるか否かを判定する判定部３３と、検出された他車両のうち、自車両１０に先行させると判定した第１の他車両に後続する第２の他車両の前端よりも前に自車両１０の後端が位置するように、自車両１０の加速度または減速度を制御する車両制御部３４とを有する。【選択図】図３