Winter road king has tips for staying out of the ditch

Navigating Alberta's icy roads is one of the hardest things for new drivers to learn.

And this week has been especially bad for traffic and accidents in Edmonton with the extra cold weather.

• Slip-sliding on Edmonton roads: 150 collisions in 18 hours this week

But Mike Broadley is used to it.

He could be hailed as the king of the winter roads.

Broadley drives a Zamboni in Edmonton. Before that,he managed and drove snowplows in Banff. And he also drove a truck to remote rigs in northern Alberta.

He said his years of experience on cold, icy roads and rinks has given him some clairvoyance.

"I think I'm really aware, I see stuff that's about to happen," said Broadley on CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

"Yesterday I almost slammed into a bus, but I knew it was happening well before. At the bottom of Connors Road this guy was driving like he didn't know where he was going. So I left enough space, and sure enough at the top of the hill he cuts me off and almost sends me into a bus at the bus stop."

Broadley said his best advice for new winter drivers is pay attention to the drivers around you.

"To protect yourself, you've got tobe cautious of everybody else.

"I used to tell my guys all the time, just pretend everybody is drunk on the road.

"Protect yourself, watch out. If it wasn't a tourist in Banff, it's just someone that doesn't know how to drive in winter conditions. And it's the whole expect the unexpected."

'Graceful ballerina act'

Broadley credits his time on the Zamboni for improved skills on icy roads.

"It's like this graceful ballerina act of operation on the slipperiest of the slippery surfaces."

"Obviously you're on ice so you can make that Zamboni's back end kick out, and you can look like an Alberta dude driving a truck around the city.

"But to do it nicely, and to do the ice well, you do kind of a slide throughout your turns. But it is really controlled, and really minimal."

Broadley says his father took him to an empty parking lot to learn how a car reacts in a slide.

He says that was good preparation for the years of driving to come. However,he stresses that if you're reckless you can be charged for stunting.

He says the all of the advice he gives is intended to help drivers stay on the road.

"You don't know what it's like to drive in the ditchuntil you're in the ditch."

• Don't forget these winter driving tips for bad Alberta roads, AMA says