By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

More and more, technology is being asked to save us from traffic congestion. In Hawai'i and around the world, the move toward Intelligent Transportation Systems is taking off, in sometimes surprising ways. New ideas are being turned into products that are showing up increasingly in our cars and on our roadways.

In Honolulu, the O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization is working on what it calls an ITS architecture — an outline of how state and city officials can work together to use and share technology to improve traffic flow and safety.

Here's a glimpse at how a few such improvements are being used:

A company called TrafficGauge is selling a device called Mobile Traffic Map, which beams real-time maps of the city's traffic congestion to the driver's seat. With a glance at the palm-sized device, commuters can quickly assess traffic conditions and decide to make changes in their route, allow more time for the trip or maybe turn around for home.

The information comes direct from Washington state's network of traffic monitoring cameras, similar to the hundreds that are available for viewing on the Internet by Honolulu residents. The service costs about $50 to set up and $4.99 per month. The company hopes to make the service available nationwide in a few years.

• Of course, the service is just an update on the old-fashioned traffic reports you can get on the radio, but a couple of politicians in Los Angeles think they can improve on that, too.

The councilmen have proposed that the city create its own AM station to broadcast all traffic, all the time. The station would be like those smaller ones that provide information in a certain area, like an airport or national park, but would be able to reach drivers across Los Angeles.

Like the Seattle effort, the information would come from cameras that continually monitor roadway conditions and traffic flow.

• Many safety experts say they have high hopes for systems based in cars and trucks that use Doppler radar to track other vehicles and sound warnings or automatically reduce speed if a crash seems likely.

Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Lexus and Infiniti have such systems; Cadillac and others plan to follow.

The feature is standard on some cars and an option costing as much as $3,000 on others, but it is expected to fall with competition and mass production. Heavy trucks are also likely candidates for such systems.

• Meanwhile, everybody's least favorite high-tech traffic improvements — traffic cams — continue to be in the news.

Last week, a judge in the District of Columbia ruled that the city isn't violating the Constitution by fining owners of cars caught on camera speeding or running red lights.

Two motorists had sued the city, saying the electronic enforcement system violates the right of due process, one of the main arguments traffic cam opponents raised when the system was tried in Hawai'i.

The court ruled that the city can presume the owner of the car to be guilty, as long as the owner is given ample opportunity to rebut the charge.

Share your parking problems, pleasures

First, there's the traffic jam. Then there's the parking problem that follows.

If there's one thing that makes Hawai'i drivers more crazy than the congestion on our streets, it's got to be the parking.

It's limited. It's expensive. Sometimes, it's even enough to make you ride the bus.

We're looking for your parking stories.

We want to know your parking secrets — and your frustrations. Tell us the best places to park (if you're willing to share) and tell us the worst places. Tell us the cheapest place you've ever found parking and tell us the most you've ever paid. Tell us what you'd do to help ease parking problems in Honolulu.

We'll share the best stories in an upcoming Advertiser feature about the problems and pleasures of parking around town.

Send your parking horror stories, tips, suggestions or other ideas to Mike Leidemann, Advertiser Drive Time, Box 3110, Honolulu, 96802 or e-mail: mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.