1. A method for adaptive regulation of distance between a host vehicle and a lead vehicle, comprising: receiving a preset cruise speed for said host vehicle; receiving a stereo image of a roadway scene in a headway direction of said host vehicle; identifying lane boundary markers in said stereo image of said roadway scene; identifying potential lead vehicle detections on said roadway scene in said headway direction of said host vehicle using said identified lane boundary marker data; verifying said potential lead vehicle detections; tracking said verified lead vehicle detection and estimating forward and lateral notion of said lead vehicle with respect to said host vehicle; and adjusting said preset cruise speed of said host vehicle based on said estimated forward and lateral motion data associated with said lead vehicle.