There's something out of balance when, in a tiny state such as this one, there's a vehicle ready to hit the road for almost every man, woman and child who lives here.

Yet that's what the statistics are telling us about Hawai'i.

As reported by Advertiser writer Dan Nakaso, about 1.13 million cars, trucks, SUVs and motorcycles are registered in the state; the state's total population is 1.28 million.

Compare that figure with New York City, traversed by an expansive subway, rail and bus system with barely a car per five people. Los Angeles County — which is auto-dependant, like Honolulu — is famous for having more cars than any major city. Even so, L.A. is not an island state. Hawai'i is, and there are simply limits to the number of roads, and the cars on them, that the Islands can sustain.

Various factors inflate the figures. For one, the large rental-car fleet that serves our tourist population is counted toward the total.

The number of cars on the road may not continue growing at the same pace: The auto industry reports a slowdown in new car purchases. Any number of reasons could be cited. High gas prices may be leading drivers to hold off for prices of hybrids to come down before buying again.

In any case, driving on congested streets is becoming less of a pleasure, so much so that many are reconsidering short trips that are unnecessary.

But that self-restraint is not enough to manage our future transportation needs. The car culture must be nudged aside to make way for alternatives that will help Honolulu — and the rest of the state — meet its needs.

The best effort must be made to promote several alternatives, including the O'ahu ferry pilot project, which must be supported with park-and-ride facilities. Even the bus system could be more user-friendly, with improvements in signage at the stops.

Honolulu is many years away from a fixed-guideway system that could provide an option other than hopping behind the wheel for every trip. But the work of revamping attitudes toward a more transit-oriented culture needs to begin now.