Ice Road truckers, like most reality TV programs is the furthest thing from reality than real life possible. Firstly, it's obvious that neither the narrator nor the producers of the show have the first clue about the trucking industry or proper operation of equipment. Secondly, the people they've got trying to drive the truck's are simply no more than overacting drama queens as they certainly haven't got a clue about what it is to actually operate a truck responsibly. No, and I mean absolutely no real trucker would abuse and misuse the trucks the way that these cowboys do. Trucks are built well but they're not meant to take this kind of rough treatment and particularly not at the speeds these idiots drive. The show resembles more of a demolition derby than it does actual trucking. I wouldn't let anyone of these clowns pushed my wheelbarrow let alone get near my trucks not even to change the oil or install new tires not ever never. The viewer might be advised not to take a single thing they see on the show is reality.

We didn't know about Ice Road Truckers until we saw an advertisement for it on an episode of Top Shot we were watching. That peaked my interest so I looked it up.It seems like anything done in Alaska (Ice Road Truckers, Alaska State Troopers, Flying Wild Alaska) attracts me. Alaska is quite beautiful, but so cold I would never want to live there.I am binge watching Ice Road Truckers and enjoying it. However I have it running in a 6" x 4" window on my computer while I edit photos. It's the kind of program that doesn't require more than about 20% of my attention. This is one program that benefits from The History Channel's over-the-top dramatization process. But at the end of each episode I do a little review just for laughs.To tell the truth very little of substance occurs across an entire season. Every episode is pumped up with many, "what could happen" commentaries, and scary graphics. However almost nothing ever really happens. The list of "exciting" things might contain things like these:The tires of the tractor slip going up hills. - Truckers have to stop to put chains on their trucks to make it up slippery steep hills when they are towing a heavy load. - Truckers get very tired while driving sometimes. - Trucks aren't always 100% reliable and things sometimes break. - Some truckers have negative things to say about other truckers. - Occasionally a truck goes off the road and gets stuck in the snow, requiring a tow from another truck to get out. - Trucks drive across lakes, the ocean, or down long stretches of rivers while they hear the ice crack. None ever fall through the ice. - Trucks going in opposite directions pass each other closely and honk at each other. - Some drivers are better at their jobs than others. Some are even let go because they are trouble makers or can't really drive well enough in the Alaska or Canada conditions. - As the truckers are paid for each load they deliver they want to deliver as many as they can. - Sometimes trucks hit bumps in the road. - Snow can nearly obscure the road ahead. - Occasionally a tire goes flat. - Sometimes a load becomes loose on the trailer. - Some of the loads the trucks carry are extremely heavy and/or large.So you see it's pretty much run of the mill trucking but in very cold, snowy, slippery, hilly, and scary conditions. But rarely does anything of any real significance happen.In no way am I suggesting driving on those roads is easy or anything less than dangerous. But it just seems to me that hundreds of thousands of miles are driven by truckers there with relative little to have created eight seasons of episodes.Still I will continue to binge watch until I burn through them and move on to something else.Update: I'm watching Season 7 now. I can't wait for this season to end and I can move on from this irritating competition between Polar Industries and VP Express. I can do without all the personal drama.What I wish Discovery would do is expand the format in some areas and cut out all of the grumbling. I'd like to know more about the trucks and loads. I'm binge watching through several seasons and not once have the producers of the show shown us through a truck once. How about each gauge and what they mean? There are obviously gauges we don't have in our cars. How do you shift with so many gears? I presume it has overdrive. Can you use overdrive in any gear? These are things any 18 wheel driver would know but I've never driven anything more complicated or larger than a U-Haul. Show us through the sleeping quarters. Do they have places to hang clothes? Drawers? Come on folks. Who owns the trucks? How much does the insurance cost for these trucks that can get lost breaking through ice or being run off the road and left for a year? How much does a driver make per load? Who pays to fix broken trucks? How much is the fuel and how much is used per trip?You've shown us hundreds of videos showing trucks driving on snowy roads and over ice. Enough already.How about some perspective on the shippers and those who receive the loads? It just seems like there are other things to show than what they've shown for multiple seasons.I can't believe Ice Road Truckers goes on for eight seasons when so many other shows are better and cut short after a season or two.

Just an FYI this is filmed in Canada so when they say -32 or being terrible at -42 it would be in Celsius and it does get a lot colder then that they're further north than I am and it gets to be almost -60 with out the wind. Which is pretty cold. This show is guilty of doing the same thing every reality TV show does, it amps up the danger aspect of the job when there is really all that much. Im from northern Canada and its really not a huge deal to be driving on frozen water. It happens all the time. its not a terrible show but like others have said it could easily been covered in a 2 hour special. They just keep using the same tired bits. History should know better but I think they're trying to up their rating by having shows that can attract the same crowd as deadliest catch.

Channel 5's new television series, "Ice road truckers" was suitably intriguing at first sight. Further into the series we are introduced to more and more characters and we see their personalities unravel before our eyes.We learn about aspects of their job such as the huge machines they use to carry out their bidding, and what kind of a life they lead while trawling the Ice Road. All the truckers we see are working for the head honcho "Hugh Roland" a big, hairy, macho man nick named "the polar bear" by his employees.Soon enough, the true personality of the drivers is revealed; from the very likable southern Californian "T.J." to the rather arrogant Rick Yemm. That brings me to another point, the swearing. Unfortunately the drivers tend to swear every other sentence which leads to a series of very annoying beeps.The introduction for every episode has so far been repeated from the pilot episode, which has lots of cheesy introductions like Alex's line where he says "It's called the dash for the cash" which makes for some cringe worthy viewing. Apart from these small hang ups (and all the other stuff I have no doubt forgotten) Ice road truckers makes for a likable documentary and some easy Friday night viewing.