More than once in your life, you’ve probably thought you had the worst job in the world, and you’re right in acknowledging that your occupation isn’t the easiest, but imagine doing your job on a sheet of ice.
The drivers of Ice Road Truckers, a relatively new History Channel television show, do just that to earn their monthly pay. And though you might want to use television time to get away from what you do for a living, you might change your mind after watching an episode of this monumental series that puts your profession in the limelight.
The show highlights the jobs of truckers who drive freight across the roads of Canada’s Northwest Territories, which are really frozen lakes. During some months, the lakes are too thin to be used as roads, but once permafrost sets in, truckers drive perilously across the solid water. First aired as a documentary in conjunction with a previous History Channel feature called Suicide Missions, last year, the channel aired the feature as its own show.
Drivers along the ice roads are paid extensively for their work, but the job is dangerous and both physically and mentally taxing. Drivers in season one of the show experienced all types of troubles. Excessive speeding was rewarded not only with a ticket, but also with banishment from the road. Trucks drivers on ice roads get into accidents and listen to the threatening cracking of ice below their tires as they work each day.
Truckers and audiences everywhere obviously enjoyed the show in its previous season. Ratings were high, and the History Channel decided to air a second season of the show this summer. The season premiere, which aired on Sunday, June 8, 2008, was advertised across the nation on radio and television, urging television watchers to view the show because of its suspense and interesting, non-fiction information. Truckers are not actors, but are real workers who took the treacherous job on the ice road for experience or money.
The real ice road extends 417 miles and was completed in 1979. The road allowed the city of Inuvik to be accessed by automobiles for the first time. For businesses, this meant that more options existed for transporting and receiving goods. Truckers were hired to transport these goods back and forth on the ice road, and the ice road drivers emerged. According to The History Channel, The Ice Road drivers are suitable stars for the History Channel because they are “making history.”
Although you might not like to watch television about your own profession during your time off or when you are relaxing during a long-haul, this television show has sensational, interesting information that all can relate to. Truckers watching this show will gain a sense of appreciation for their jobs.
