"It was a tragedy all around," Harrison says, recalling the accident in California that spurred him to develop the technology and launch his business, LightGuard Systems.

"Nobody wants to kill someone. He just couldn't see. My friend was a victim in the accident, too," Harrison said the during a break in the Governors Highway Safety Council conference, which wrapped up in Honolulu last week.

Like most of the other highway safety products exhibited at the conference, Harrison's light system seems like a simple, common-sense idea. The high-intensity LED lights are placed on the roadway and activated either automatically or manually when someone is trying to cross the street, sending a dramatic signal to drivers who might not otherwise see the pedestrian or bicycle rider.

The system, which sells for between $20,000 and $40,000, is catching on around the country, and the company is planning to install them at eight or nine locations on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in coming months, Harrison said.

The Hawai'i state Transportation Department also tried one of the systems, but lost it to thieves, who literally stole the lights out of Farrington Highway, said spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

Safety experts gathered for the conference said that reducing the number of people killed and injured on the nation's roadways is a matter doing many different things, rather than finding one magic solution.

Whether it's increasing seat belt use, reducing speeding or making better cars and smarter drivers, the improvements come incrementally, sometimes with new products or ideas from the private sector, officials said.

Here's a sampling of some of the other efforts that were on display during the conference:

• Reflectors. Although reflective technology has been around for more than 50 years, it's still one of the most effective ways of saving lives, said Raymond Straykosch, whose company makes reflective tape, buttons and other items in dozens of eye-popping, neon-style colors and designs.

"Pedestrians just don't realize how invisible they are in the dark," Straykosch said. "Studies show that the rate of accidents is cut in half when someone wears a reflector, which often can be seen from more than 500 feet away."

White, fluorescent red or fluorescent yellow are still the most popular colors, Straykosch said.

• Better windshields. Most drivers don't realize that today's auto windshields are designed to be the third biggest safety device in a car, behind only seat belts and air bags, said Janice Brannon of the National Glass Association, which is leading a nationwide campaign to license commercial auto glass installers.

More than 12 million windshields are replaced every year, many of them by installers who have little training, Brannon said. The association estimates that as many as 70 percent of replaced windshields might be improperly installed.

So far, only one state has decided to license the installers. "Remember, your windshield is only as good as the person who put it in," Brannon said.

• The flashlight that knows if you're drunk. The new police flashlight sold by PAS Systems not only lets a police officer see into your eyes, but helps him know if you've been drinking.

The flashlight has a built-in passive alcohol sensor that alerts an officer to the presence of alcohol with the first words a motorist says.

"And he can do it all with one hand," said PAS president Jarel Kelsey.

• Goggles that blur your vision. Put on these protective goggles and see what it feels like to be under the influence.

Fatal Vision manufactures the goggles that mimic the effects of alcohol. Wearing the goggles that simulate the vision of someone with a blood alcohol content of 1.7 (about twice the legal limit) makes it almost impossible to walk a straight line, just like the one an officer will ask you to walk if you're stopped on a highway.

Point taken.

The goggles are used in school presentations across the country, including in Hawai'i, to show students how drinking can impair their decision making, said company representative Nancy Wolfgram.

• Traffic cameras. Yes, they are still out there.

Although Hawai'i's brief experiment with the notorious "van cams" a couple of years ago appears to have spoiled any chance that they'll be reintroduced here soon, the number of other jurisdictions experimenting with them in America has grown in the last year.

The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running says the photo-enforcement cameras were introduced into more than 30 new jurisdictions last year.