The Government of Alberta is trying to drive home the message about driving safe on winter roads by posting a dramatic accident recorded by a police cruiser's dashboard camera late last year.

The video, recorded by the RCMP in October and posted last week to the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General's YouTube channel, shows a white pickup truck slide off an icy Alberta highway.

The video shows the truck suddenly veering from the right lane of the highway into the left, and then steers back to the right where it plows through the snowy shoulder, hits a guardrail and flips over into a ditch.

The video is silent, but bears the message: "Road conditions can change in a heartbeat. From blacktop... to black ice.

"Be ready for anything and drive for the conditions."

The RCMP said the driver in the video was able to walk away from the accident.

Slow down, be careful

The Alberta government posted the video to show just how quickly conditions can change on Alberta roads, and to ask drivers to slow down.

Parker Hogan, press secretary for the Minister of Transportation, says the video is a timely reminder, considering how dangerous Alberta roads have been over the last several weeks.

"I think very clearly this video illustrates that it only takes a matter of seconds to go from being in control of your vehicle on winter roadways to being in the ditch," he said.

In the winter, even when the road appears to be very clean and dry, there's always black ice and wind gusts, and other surprise hazards, he said.

Hogan hopes people will see the video, and remember to be cautious behind the wheel.