Dan Grabauskas, CEO for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, has the right notion in reconfiguring HART’s order for cars from AnsaldoBreda. Twenty four-car trains does seem to promise a better passenger experience than 40 two-car trains. If you can’t get a seat, the train won’t seem like a great transportation option for very long.

Grabauskas said the savings could total millions of dollars, because the new configuration wouldn’t need as many cars with a guidance system. Just hit with canceled deals for a different model car in Europe, Ansaldo can’t like the prospect of less money from Honolulu. However, it might be worried that the Honolulu partners could take a cue from the Belgians and the Dutch and just bail altogether, so best to roll with it.

It’s right to stay on the right

Hawaii has no restrictions against trucks using the left lane of a freeway or highway, as the Star-Advertiser’s Kokua Line responded to a reader, but some states do have such laws. Indiana, Michigan, Utah and Washington restrict commercial motor vehicles to the two right lanes if there are three or more lanes in the same direction, according to Longhauler-USA.

"If (big trucks) are moving slower than the normal speed of traffic, they should keep to the right lanes," explained Caroline Sluyter, spokeswoman for Hawaii’s Department of Transportation.

Good advice. But things get hairier when the opposite occurs — i.e., when big trucks aren’t moving slower. Except during rush-hour backlog, most Honolulu car drivers on H-1 exceed the speed limit, and in most areas, trucks keep right up. That can get a bit intimidating.