This paper focuses on Traffic Psychology, based on the activities carried out in the Traffic Psychology Laboratory at the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil. Those activities lead to the creation of the research program “Traffic Psychology: Evaluation and Prevention”. The present paper refers to the psychological evaluation process extensively used in Brazil nowadays, as well as it shows the need of widening the studies perspectives, through new interrelated research and intervention. The General System Theory approach allows the understanding of human behavior in traffic situations, showing the complexity of the interactions between inputs and processes that result in risk behavior which provides damages to oneself and to the others. The decision making process in traffic situations becomes one of the main points, demanding investigations on how it occurs and how it can be oriented, studying the factors that contribute to safer behaviors, focused on the collective dimension of traffic. Special attention is given to research that deepen the understanding of human behavior in traffic situations, under the risk perception point of view.

Keywords : traffic psychology; risk perception; automotive vehicle; risk taking.