There is provided a vehicle control apparatus. The vehicle control apparatus includes: an automatic return type select switch that receives an operation for selecting an operating condition of an automatic transmission and outputs a selection signal corresponding to the received selection operation; a switch controller that switches the operating condition of the automatic transmission in accordance with the selection signal output by the select switch; an emergency determining unit that determines whether or not the select switch has been operated consecutively at least a predetermined number of times within a predetermined period while the vehicle travels, and outputs an emergency operation signal when determining that the select switch has been operated consecutively; and a brake control unit and an electric parking brake control unit that apply braking to the vehicle on the basis of an operation by a driver and the emergency operation signal output by the emergency determining unit.