The blade on a snowplow is a lot like a big can opener, and we are driving the cans.

That’s why the top tip for motorists from our old pal Joe the Snowplow Jockey is to “just stay the hell away from us! We are clearing the road so everyone can get where they need to go.

“We are your friend, not your enemy, so stop treating us like we’re the problem, when it’s the weather you should be mad at.”

Every year, Joe emails us his observations and advice for motorists and people shovelling sidewalks and driveways, which we don’t usually pass along until after Christmas, when winter settles in.

But it arrived a lot earlier this year — when was the last time we had such a blast of cold and snow in mid-December? — adding urgency to Joe’s advice.

“There’s one thing different this storm,” said Joe in a note sent Sunday. “No sidewalk rage. Well, maybe some dirty looks after I plowed in their laneway for the third time. But most people waved at me and smiled.

“Some people walk on the road in the same direction as traffic with headphones on, and in black jackets, so they can’t hear us and we can’t see them. Now that’s stupid!”

It was so cold on Saturday night that the road salt stopped working, which happens when the temperature dips below -10 C and allows the snow to bond to the road, he said.

Among Joe’s other tips:

1. Don’t ever pass a snowplow, or even worse, get between an angled line of several plows. The plow driver can’t always see a car and could slice it open with the big blade on the front of his truck.

2. Do not shovel snow from your driveway into the street. “I’ll give it back to you, and then you will give me the one-finger salute.” There is nowhere else for the plow to push the snow, except back into laneways.

3. Find a better parking spot than on the street. Parked vehicles are difficult for plows to work around, and usually end up buried under a hill of hard-packed, icy snow that the owner has to dig out.

4. If you can’t get up a hill, turn around and find a different route, instead of spinning your wheels. It’s dangerous and all that spinning adds to the ice on the road. Better still, stay away from long hills.

5. Get snow tires. You’ll arrive at your destination much more quickly and safely than with all-season tires.

6. Try to keep driveway and sidewalk rage in check. Please understand that plow drivers are not deliberately filling in the sidewalk or laneway you just shovelled, and take no pleasure from doing it.

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7. Be patient when behind a plow and respect its blue flashing lights. The plow isn’t just clearing the road for you, but for police, ambulances and fire trucks responding to an emergency that could involve your family.

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