This study was conducted to examine the usage effects of an augmented reality head‐up display (AR‐HUD) system on the risk perception and psychological changes of drivers. To do so, we conducted an experiment to collect the driver response times for vehicles and pedestrians as their risk perception behavior, and used a driving behavior determinants questionnaire consisting of Problem Evading, Benefits/Sensation Seeking, Anti‐Personal Anxiety, Anti‐Personal Angry, and Aggression factors for collecting the psychological characteristics of the drivers. Thirty drivers were randomly assigned into an in‐vehicle AR‐HUD using group and a control group. As a result, the Anti‐Personal Anxiety and Anti‐Personal Angry factors were negatively correlated with the response time for the control group. In contrast, these results were not shown for the in‐vehicle AR‐HUD system using group. These results indicate that the in‐vehicle AR‐HUD system may partially induce a relaxation of tension or stress for drivers with a high level of interpersonal anxiety. Therefore, the in‐vehicle AR‐HUD system might contribute to not only the visual safety driving behaviors of drivers, but also to their psychological driving safety with specific characteristics.