Best Dressed Police Car - Winnipeg

Blue Line magazine has declared the Winnipeg Police Service car's new colours the best dressed in Canada for 2010.

I dunno. I like Brandon's better.

Bodies: Seize Cadavers, No Mummy Show?

Dr. Heather Gill-Frerking looks over a family of Hungarian mummies from the 19th century while preparing to open the new "Mummies of the World" exhibit at the California Science Center in Los Angeles in June 2010.


David Matas is a noted human rights activist. He is perfectly justified in questioning the provenance of bodies in the Bodies exhibition at the MTS Exhibition Centre.

However, much like how the province overreached over the Criminal Property Forfeitures Act (by the way, it was nice to see the Free Press question the constitutional aspects of it as well yesterday), this is a reach of the most extreme kind. The Anatomy Act of 1987 is being used in a way that achieves Matas's goal by other means.

From the Free Press, the important details of the Anatomy Act are:

"No person shall take or send, or employ, authorize, cause, or permit, any other person to take or send, the body of a dead person obtained by him under this act, or any part thereof, out of the province for anatomical or other scientific instruction or requirements, unless authorized in writing to do so by the minister.

"Upon receipt of a notice under subsection (1), the authority responsible for burial of unclaimed bodies of deceased persons shall take delivery of, and arrange for the proper burial of the body."

David Matas wants to use the act to seize the Bodies exhibit lock, stock and barrel and bury it because of this act. The real intention of this is to embarrass China about the possible treatment of prisoners, especially political prisoners, who may or may not be part of this exhibit.

No doubt if Matas succeeds, the world's media will descend on Winnipeg as this will be the most political slap to China that we have ever seen in Canada. I expect that a monster size funeral would take place to further put the focus on political prisoners.

The Manitoba government should not should not let the Anatomy Act be used to achieve an objective by other means. If the government truly had a problem with the exhibition they should never had let it enter the province. Likewise, once it was here, they were within their rights to insist on a disclaimer. What they shouldn't be able to do is to seize an exhibit that would never have come if the province understood the implications of their own act.

Now...as for the act, it is obvious the cat is out of the bag how it can be used in the future. Amend it to allow for travelling exhibition shows or we will never get the Body World exhibition where the provenance of the bodies is well recorded. Nor will be get to see the Mummies exhibition which opened in Los Angeles in June.

Cordell Barker Animation in Cat Crazed

For those of you who love cats and the animation of Winnipeg's Cordell Barker, tune into the documentary Cat Crazed tonight on CBC tonight at 9 and its repeat on the CBC News Network Friday.

How did much of the Winnipeg media miss this? Listed in the highlights on the Winnipeg Free Press today and full articles in the Globe and Mail and Calgary Herald but many will likely miss the show without more radio and TV coverage.

From the Calgary Herald:

Cat Crazed offers a long, bizarre and entertaining journey through cat obsession before we get to Bruce's (the director's) made-in-Canada solution, which involves both cat licensing and the only free spay and neutering facility in North America aimed at low-income cat owners.

Throughout this doc are animations from Cordell Barker, the producer of 1987's The Cat Came Back.

Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurant to Open In Winnipeg

Back in August Minneapolis-based Buffalo Wings restaurant announced they were opening in Canada including Winnipeg.

This week, the chain broke ground on their first restaurant in Oshawa. They are expected top open in May while completing other Ontario land deals for more locations.

Buffalo Wild Wings owns or franchises 730 sites in 44 states. The sports-friendly spots serve fried chicken wings with 18 different sauces and seasonings, including the sticky, spicy wings associated with Buffalo, N.Y. Other casual fare also is available.

Sometimes this year, they will be looking to open their first Winnipeg location. Given their sports connection over the years, could we be seeing them on Pembina Highway near the new stadium or downtown near the MTS Centre?

Police Cadets

The police cadets are being noticed.

And they have already been credited with helping locate an armed robbery suspect.

So far there are 29 cadets out there and there are enough of them that they could make a difference in areas where police resources could be better used. The cadets are to be used to secure crime scenes, direct traffic and even guard mental health patients.

Unlike the Business Improvement Zone patrols, they can be moved around all over the city.

It will be important for the cadets to continue to work closely with the police training officers and for reports to be made to the city about their progress.

There are many jobs the police probably would probably rather not do. Traffic enforcement is probably a big one where a few cadets would be better service while a signal light in being repaired.

Imagine how useful cadets are in a search where a photo might be shown door to door.

It took a while for this to get going but the mayor, council and the Winnipeg Police deserve full credit for this.

Let's see if the presence of cadets makes people feel safer and produces numbers that verify this.

More NDP Re-Directing

Still seeing more NDP supporters going after the PCs and McFadyen about what he would do to end the deficit while saying nothing about what the NDP intends to do about themselves.

The truth is that they are hoping that the election does not focus on their lack of plan at all.

They keep announcing more and more spending and will likely keep announcing it through an election. However, as soon as the election is over, I think we might see what we saw when the NDP won in Nova Scotia. The NDP premier is promising big cuts to the budget.

The NDP in Manitoba has no such plans. The deficit will continue to grow.

Like the NDP of the Howard Pawley government of the 1980s, the government of Greg Selinger and his predecessor Gary Doer have been marked by rising deficits.

I remember the waste in MPIC, MTS and Workers Compensation under the NDP. The same thinking is now trying to sink Manitoba Hydro.

So expect more NDP fear and screaming and accusations of terror. However, they will likely do the same thing Nova Scotia's NDP is doing after an election if they win. They will say: "We had no idea it was this bad" despite the fact they were in power for 11 years.

The NDP must answer the question of what they will do to end the deficits. All we hear is them howling about everyone else.

An African Savannah in Winnipeg

The new African-Canadian Culture Centre




The parking lot where it all may happen.

The Free Press scooped this story about the African-Canadian Culture Centre proposal for an $18 million building on Hargrave Street.

The site of the project is the former location of the Young Men's Hebrew Association. The parking lot, owned by Shelter Corporation, will be sold to the African Canadian Foundation. Apparently, they need to raise $7 million for the first phase.

From the Free Press story:

What would be included in the development? Phase I would involve the construction of a $6-million, 24,000-square-foot building including a 7,000-square-foot recreation centre, a 5,000-square-foot multi-purpose hall, meeting rooms, office space, a daycare centre, an African arts and interpretive centre, a kitchen and an African-Canadian restaurant.

Phase II would involve a four-storey, 32,000-square-foot residential/retail complex that would include an underground parkade, African-themed shops and an imported-food store on the main floor, and 100 student apartments on the other three floors. The apartments would be mainly one-bedroom units 500 to 600 square feet in size and would rent for about $1,000 a month.

There is sign up on the Hargrave site but no website that I have been able to find with details on the project.

There are some good people listed as helping with the fundraising.

My only concern is that things seem to still really be in the early stages and that the sign might be more wish fulfillment than an actual announcement of work.

Guess we have to follow this closely but it does seem a project that makes sense for the area and for the city's future which will be focused on immigration and education.

Trouble At Fab 94.3?

Beau and Tom along with Frazier. Upset at being bumped again?

In today's Free Press there is a report that the launch of the morning show on Fab 94.3 was cancelled due to Beau being sick.

As some others noted, the launch of the Jay and Andrea show on BOB FM has also being cancelled. Why would Beau being sick on one station affect the launch at another station?

As I pointed out earlier, I thought the hosts must feel like yo-yos.

As for Beau, Tom and Frazier, they must feel like yo-yos bouncing around. There is a lot riding on them turning the ship around. They were transferred to BOB to do the same thing in terms of growing their morning audience. However, this time it isn't quite clear that the oldies format will grow beyond what the previous station might have been getting.

Could it be that that former BOB hosts feel like they have been thrown under the bus for a format that has little prospect for growth in Winnipeg's market?

NDP And the Deficit

The NDP on blogs and forums are still in full attack. They are either making bold claims about the massive majority they are going to win and sloganeering with "moving Manitoba forward" or they are attacking the PCs and Hugh McFadyen.

We are looking at five years of deficits and the only way the NDP could avoid breaking the law on deficits was to change it so that they could run deficits for a few years before balancing the books.

In 14 months, Greg Selinger has continued to spend and spend and his NDP supporters continue to tell us how brilliant it all is from the stadium to the human rights museum to the west side path of Manitoba's Hydro bipole III. So many worthy projects, so many more to come. It unlikely we are going to see a budget of restraint nor are we going to see a frugal election.

The NDP supporters are shouting the PCs will cut everything and people will lose jobs all over the place. They scream what will you cut?! It would appear that the shouting is a cover for not answering the question themselves. Make people fearful about the opposition and not answer the question that the government should be answering themselves.

Off the top of my head, the government ought to be looking at every department of government for ways to hold the line. They should be looking at holding wages down as a first option over cutting workers. They should stop saying yes to every call for money from the human rights museum to the stadium. They should stop making political decisions such as with the hydro line. They should drop the ethanol program as a failed policy.

Perhaps if they did some of those things, they might not have to look at harder options of raising taxes, cutting services or hoping for a runaway rise in the economy and burgeoning transfer payments. Hope from the Feds seem iffy given the fact slower growth and better control on spending seems to be the order of the day.

The opposition will indeed have to present their platform when the election happens but the NDP is the government now and they have shown no signs of controlling their high spending ways.

The very aggressive tactics of their supporters is going to intensify with every poll that puts their party behind. After 11 years, the hysterics and histrionics are not being well received. However, it seems the marching orders have been given to the party faithful to go for the gutter when it comes to attacking.

Some have been attacking Hugh McFadyen's personal life. Pretty awful but I expect we'll see more of it.

The PCs should try to avoid the most muddy of the tactics. They need to work on a solid platform, talks about the tough road ahead but emphasize the positive.

It is difficult to know what the Liberals will do. Jon Gerrard needs to find good candidates and present a platform that is different from the other parties. Not everyone is comfortable voting for the two major parties in the province for the simple fact that they can act out in this left/right free for all battle. The Liberals need to present a centrist platform and indicate that even a few Liberals in the legislature can help change the tone.

One thing is clear though. The NDP attacks will only draw attention to the lack of a plan on their own part. People will be less forgiving than they might have been even 14 months ago. Most in the province know that while the province might be doing better than other places, we can't depend on transfer payments booming and that the deficit cannot be imagined away.

The Flood

Even with the protection of the Red River Floodway, it looks to be a year where flooding will be an issue. Manitoba fell just a smidge under the record for wettest year ever. Heavy snow continues to fall throughout the Red River Valley.

Winter isn't over yet and very heavy snows late into winter early spring are not uncommon.

The big question will be how quick the spring melt will be and whether we have a wet spring of rain.

Winnipeg's timing in terms of completion of the Floodway is very fortunate. However, there is no doubt that south of the city there could be a lot of water. I suspect the main roads down to the U.S. could be shut down down for awhile. Some U.S. communities are still not well protected. Fargo, North Dakota could face trouble. Grand Fork, North Dakota is better prepared but for how much past 1997 levels is hard to say.

In terms of preparedness, the government will have to be prepared for long diversions around the Red River basin. Communities will have to be prepared for a stretch of isolation and might have to be evacuated save for emergency services.

We have gone through all this before. We have prepared for levels of above 1997 and have used 1826 flood numbers as a basis for protection. No one really knows how bad the 1776 flood was but by some accounts it was even greater. Are we prepared for that?

There have been some very extreme weather patterns in the last years. We in Manitoba have prepared better than others for flooding but not all of it can be mitigated.

Criminal Property Forfeitures Act

The NDP government probably feels vulnerable on crime. It seems a likely reason why they are using the Criminal Property Forfeitures Act to try to confiscate a house where an alleged sex offender lived.

Setting aside the awfulness of the charge, the idea that any felony charge can lead to property being taken by the government is probably not going to stand a court challenge.

It is one thing to confiscate property linked to the proceeds of crime or used as a front for a criminal enterprise and whole different thing about where a crime takes place.

In short, this pushing of the boundaries could be used to take people's houses if they are convicted of domestic abuse. And why not? The crime took place in the home and the province could easily make the claim that the property was an instrument of that crime.

Some people say that criminals deserve no mercy and that there should be no limit to the punishment they receive. However, it is very likely that this decision to go after people based on the location of the crime might fail the provisions of Section 12 and Section 7 of the Charter.

The Quietest Day of the Year

I find it to be one of the quietest days of the year. It seems even the kids don't get up before a certain hour. Most things are closed and people are not rushing off to family events associated with other holidays. Look at any the traffic cams around the city and you don't see much going on.

It is a time for introspection, relaxation and for a few... college football games in the U.S along with the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl that follows. I think it must always be sunny and warm in Pasadena on New Year's Day.

I am looking forward to the new year and hope for great things for my family and for the place I live and work.

2011 will be an important year in that both provincial and federal elections are scheduled to happen due to term limits. I think it is safe to say that many people are looking for some vision.

The Economist recently said that the older people get, the happier they get.

But there was more:

Four main factors, it seems: gender, personality, external circumstances and age. Women, by and large, are slightly happier than men. But they are also more susceptible to depression: A fifth to a quarter of women experience depression at some point in their lives, compared with around a tenth of men. Which suggests either that women are more likely to experience more extreme emotions, or that a few women are more miserable than men, while most are more cheerful.

Two personality traits shine through the complexity of economists' regression analyses: neuroticism and extroversion. Neurotic people -- those who are prone to guilt, anger and anxiety -- tend to be unhappy. This is more than a tautological observation about people's mood when asked about their feelings by pollsters or economists. Studies following people over many years have shown that neuroticism is a stable personality trait and a good predictor of levels of happiness. Neurotic people are not just prone to negative feelings: They also tend to have low emotional intelligence, which makes them bad at forming or managing relationships, and that in turn makes them unhappy.

Whereas neuroticism tends to make for gloomy types, extroversion does the opposite. Those who like working in teams and who relish parties tend to be happier than those who shut their office doors in the daytime and hole up at home in the evenings. This personality trait may help explain some cross-cultural differences: A study comparing similar groups of British, Chinese and Japanese people found that the British were, on average, both more extroverted and happier than the Chinese and Japanese.

Does this sound like any particular political leaders you might know?

In fact, some of them may exhibit a little of both traits. By that, I mean, they could be extroverts with some people and neurotic with others. In other words, they have their sort of people and then there are the "others" who they fear, get angry at or who contribute to their unhappiness.

To my own end, I am looking to increase my own happiness index although I am at the age that is apparently least likely to find it.

I am also going to look at people who will lead my governments who will make an effort to measure their success at least to some degree by how happy it will make the people. I don't necessarily mean populist leadership. We saw that in the last ten years.

What I mean is that a government that focuses on employment, education and growing the economy and doesn't get diverted by the politics of division will be something I look for in 2011.

As January 1 shines bright and quiet, what do you do look for in the new year?

My Biggest Sources of Traffic: Sites

It used to be that that Endless Spin Cycle dominated for referrals. However, Google has jumped way ahead and it is likely to stay that way.

One fast riser is Fwix. Facebook is now in the top 10 too.

I expect some other popular Winnipeg blogs will continue to rise in terms of referrals.

Here are the websites that sent this blog the most visitors:

Referring Sites

www.google.ca

5,431

endlessspin.blogspot.com

2,479

www.google.com

1,814

www.winnipeglovehate.com

703

anybody-want-a-peanut.blogspot.com

671

fwix.com

519

slurpeesandmurder.blogspot.com

487

onemancommittee.blogspot.com

292

progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com

247

www.facebook.com

191

My Biggest Sources of Traffic: URLs

These were more biggest sources of traffic listed by URLs in 2010:

Referring URLs

http://endlessspin.blogspot.com/

2,399

http://anybody-want-a-peanut.blogspot.com/

609

http://www.winnipeglovehate.com/

560

http://slurpeesandmurder.blogspot.com/

439

http://onemancommittee.blogspot.com/

215

http://westenddumplings.blogspot.com/

215

http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/

214

http://www.endlessspin.blogspot.com/

211

http://waverleywest.blogspot.com/

70

http://www.google.ca/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=John+Dobbin&aq=f&aqi=g7g-m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

70

Even now, Endless Spin Cycle remains a huge source of traffic.

My Biggest Posts of 2010

It is sometimes amazing what ends up as being the most viewed posts on this blog:

Martha Stewart Gets Too Close To Polar Bear
Nov 6, 2010, 2 comments

1,066 Pageviews

Week after week and into its second month, this little parody of Martha Stewart's visit to Churchill, Manitoba gets the most visits.

Menards Coming To Winnipeg - Sort Of
Nov 24, 2010, 2 comments

745 Pageviews

The interest in Menard's store and Winnipeg is intense. The day they decide to open a store in Winnipeg will likely cause hysteria. Cats will fall out of trees and dogs will turn rabid in the mouth.

Black and White Police Cars
Jul 5, 2010, 1 comment

532 Pageviews

Thoughts on black and white police cars and the choice of the Winnipeg Police on the their new design drew world-wide attention. Who knew that black and white police cars were so popular?

Great Canadian Talk Show Ended... Shock
Nov 8, 2010, 2 comments

426 Pageviews

Think many people were a little stunned when The Great Canadian Talk Show was cancelled. Public affairs radio is a little bit lesser today for it.

Adrenaline Adventures To Open In Headingley
Nov 28, 2010, 2 comments

353 Pageviews

I think initially there was not a lot of recognition for how well this recreation venue would be regarded. It hasn't even been open a week and I get visits to hear more about it.

Fun Questions for the candidates for Charleswood-T...
Jul 16, 2010

232 Pageviews

Not sure why this post gets hit so many times even after the election. I think it may be how Google displays certain pages when someone looks for the blog. During the election though I tried to focus on Charleswood as much as possible. In the end, it was one of the closest ward races all night.

New York Times Manitoba Immigration Article
Nov 14, 2010

208 Pageviews

There was quite a bit of interest in this New York Time article when it came out on Manitoba immigration.

The Great Canadian Talk Show - National Post Story...
Nov 17, 2010

184 Pageviews

More interest in The Great Canadian Talk Show and the National Post article that revealed additional information.

Menards - Deliveries to Winnipeg
Dec 6, 2010

179 Pageviews

I received many questions about Menard's and their deliveries to Winnipeg. I actually called Grand Forks and got this information.

Corner Cars
Jul 15, 2010

176 Pageviews

There was some interest in this story from the States about corner cars and how people were giving up car ownership in exchange for car access in some cities.

It is hard to say what will be the most viewed posts for 2011. I suspect the provincial election might have a few posts. However, it is often the unexpected post that has the most interest.

Man in a Blizzard

See the short movie filmed in New York City on December 26 that Roger Ebert says should win the Oscar for best live short.

On his website, Ebert writes that Stuart's film deserves to win the Academy Awards for best live-action short subject. Why does he think it deserves to win? "(1) Because of its wonderful quality. (2) Because of its role as homage," he writes. "It is directly inspired by Dziga Vertov's 1929 silent classic, 'Man With a Movie Camera.' (3) Because it represents an almost unbelievable technical proficiency."

Fab 94.3 On The Air

It started on December 26 with the switch from Christmas music to tunes from the 1960s and 1970s. Curve 94.3 became Fab 94 and in another switcheroo BOB FM and the new FAB 94.3 have traded morning DJs.

Beau, Tom and Frazier will return to their old haunts on the dial at 94.3. The former Curve 94.3 morning team of Jay and Andrea will take over the BOB show.

For people who like oldies, Fab 94.3 will probably be welcomed. Still, it seems a big risk to grow the audience with this format. As for Beau, Tom and Frazier, they must feel like yo-yos bouncing around. There is a lot riding on them turning the ship around. They were transferred to BOB to do the same thing in terms of growing their morning audience. However, this time it isn't quite clear that the oldies format will grow beyond what the previous station might have been getting.

Most can remember the various formats that 99 FM went through before settling on the homegrown BOB format. That original change was copied around North America.

I have listened to Fab 94.3 a few times. It isn't bad but it won't resonate with a lot of people looking for something new and different than Hot 103.

It will be interesting to see the next ratings period and how the changes rank.

More Spending on Human Rights Museum

I'm a bit surprised that this has gone by without notice by more people.

The NDP Premier Greg Selinger has indicated that the Human Rights Museum at The Forks may be in line for more provincial money. Well, of course it is. No one ever locked down the costs of this thing going up and it seems no matter what the cost, it will be covered.

Many in Manitoba have already been very generous in donating privately and everyone else in Manitoba has donated through their taxes. However, the costs always seem to be a moving target. Selinger has asked private donors to dig deeper but has acknowledged the government will have to pick up the slack.

There are so many of these critical spending projects that the NDP government has committed to, it is starting to look like they will never get a handle on the deficit.

The museum might one day be a very good place to visit but how long will it take Manitobans take to pay for this and other projects?

It seems something is lost in having a human rights museum of renown when the place that hosts it struggles to get a handle on the borrowing that took to build it.

The museum has faced a lot of criticism as of late but one of the biggest sticking points is that the costs seem to be in flux at all times. Ultimately, the museum is a federal institution but so much of the costs of the place are being borne by the Manitoba taxpayer.

List Time - Blogs

Here are the blogs that made a difference in Manitoba over the last year.

First, let me mention the two that have been discontinued: Endless Spin Cycle and Waverley West stopped publishing. More sadly, they pulled all their archives.

I have a few other blogs on my blogroll that have not had new entries for over a year. A few only published a handful of times this year. I will be switching those blogs to just a listing of Winnipeg blogs if they remain inactive.

So let's get down the blogs that have been great this year.

West End Dumplings

An always entertaining and informative blog on the west end and elsewhere in the city of Winnipeg. Be sure to check out the sister blogs of the original: This Was Manitoba, Winnipeg Downtown Places and Winnipeg General Strike.

Progressive Winnipeg

Great coverage of the civic election and the issues of active transportation. Good coverage in terms of international issues as well.

Policing, Politics and Public Policy

Former Deputy Chief of Winnipeg Police and a blog that sheds new light on civic and police issues in Winnipeg.

The View from Seven

Well researched and thought out discussions on a wide range of issues from a Winnipegger.

One Man Committee

A great way to find out about Winnipeg with a fair assessment of what is going on and some thoughts on urban issues in general. A great place to start and work your way out from for Winnipeg blogs.

State of the City

An insiders view of civic issues and the willingness to discuss, critique and sometimes shout to the heavens about policy issues for urbanites.

A Day In The Hood

And on the street perspective of the North End from a resident who shows things as they are.

Winnipeg... one great city (or so they tell me)

Thoughts from someone who takes the city and some of the people in it to task.


Anybody Want A Peanut

Some great work on numbers that the media should have looked at in recent reporting. Overall interesting blog.

The Black Rod

The opinionated and in your face blog with no opportunity to comment.

The Great Canadian Talk Show

The companion blog to The Great Canadian Talk Show and the place to look for their podcasts.

Blackberry Addicts

The return of an old blog. They don't seem to like the PCs and their leader.

Reed Solomon

Often finding the overlooked stories in Winnipeg sometimes from a tech perspective.

The Rise and Sprawl

One of the first blogs in town to comment on urban issues.

The Crime Scene

CBC's James Turner gives a peek at the crime scene in Winnipeg.

96° 48' 35" From the Centre

Hope to see more of this blog as the provincial election approaches.

Policy Frog

Veteran blogger that has been far too quiet as of late.

Things That Need To Be Said

A closer look at politics and other issues from this blog. More, please.

Slurpees and Murder

Always good to see a post from this blog.

Heart of the Continent

Been enjoying this blog on urban design, policy and the architecture.

+++

There have been a few partisan political blogs that I have listed in my blogroll. In recent months there has been a proliferation of NDP supporters writing in support for their party.

The above blogs are a great way to get to know Manitoba and the city of Winnipeg. I find them as important as any newspapers, TV or or radio broadcast as to insight on local affairs.

Some really great stuff.

Open Season on Pedestrians

In the last number of days pedestrians are probably wondering if someone has not printed a target on their backs and declared open season on them.

I have no idea of the circumstances of all the car/pedestrians collisions in the last days. The police themselves have said that pedestrians need be mindful of cars but if we get right down to it, many drivers still drive too fast, are distracted and often display a lack of courtesy as well as a lack of knowledge when it comes to following the written and unwritten rules of the road.


Turn signals are not optional.

Headlights when there are blustery conditions with flying snow is not just a good idea, it can possibly save your life or someone else's.

Let traffic merge one car at a time when someone is stalled in a lane. Don't act like a donkey and squeeze people out thinking it is a game of "win or lose."

Stop swerving from lane to lane. You just end up at the same traffic signal of the grandma you thought you left in the dust.

Know who has the right of way when pulling up to a stop sign, yield or on a street that has parked cars. Yield does not mean merge. If cars are parked on the same side you are driving on, don't try to hog the center line and cause oncoming traffic to have to scream to a halt.

And lastly:

Watch for pedestrians. In all likelihood, you will probably be one at some point if you walk from your car to work, home or grocery store. Imagine how much it would suck if someone ran you over.

As for pedestrians:

Assume that every car out there can end your life. Act accordingly.