Ice Roads Documentary
Ice Road Truckers
Tli Cho Landtran has been featured in a History Channel documentary called Ice Road Truckers. Already airing in the United States, the show follows Tli Cho Landtran drivers and dispatch staff as they work against the clock to transport loads across winter ice roads of the Northwest Territories. Danger lurks beneath the cracking roads of ice as drivers manoeuvre 40-tonne loads of supplies to the northern diamond mines. Truckers battle against sub-zero temperatures, equipment breakdowns and whiteouts to keep their trucks moving to get the loads up to the mines on schedule.
Then the truckers turn around and head back to Yellowknife so they can do it all over again. It's a contest between the cold and the machines, and a test of a driver's skill to see if he (or she) can make safely it up to the mine and back each trip.
Behind the Scenes
Ice Road Truckers presents winter road trucking as one of the most dangerous jobs on earth. In actual fact, while there are dangers inherent in driving multi-tonne trucks over the ice roads, the risk is managed through extensive safety processes and driver training. Since the first year of the Tibbit to Contwoyto ice road in 1983, there have been only two deaths, both of which were unrelated to driving on the road. Comparing this statistic to the much higher number of fatalities seen by the trucking industry on regular roads, it's easy to put the real dangers of the ice road into perspective. Although there is always danger associated with the ice, the amazing safety statistics are completely due to professional training that all drivers receive from their employers prior to driving on the ice road.
Immediately after the ice road season finishes, planning begins for the next year. The roads are planned by engineers and are monitored using sophisticated equipment to ensure the thickness is appropriate for travel across the roads. No one is allowed to travel across the roads until they are certified as safe.
While accidents are rare, they do happen. Drivers are trained on what to do in the case of an emergency, and fatalities are rare.