An apparatus for facilitating avoidance of a vehicle collision with an
object, comprises a vision sensor providing image data, and an image
analyzer, operable to provide an estimated time to collision of the
vehicle with the object. The estimated time to collision is determined
from a rate of expansion of an image element corresponding to the object
within the image data, and the apparatus provides a warning if the
estimated time to collision is less than or approximately equal to a
predetermined time.