TV - Movies
Is Ice Road
Truckers
Staged?
By MACIEJ GRZYMKOWSKI
"Ice Road Truckers" grabbed lots of eyeballs thanks to its larger-than-life characters, who never shied away from getting into dangerous situations or making controversial remarks. However, some viewers feel those scenes weren't authentic; but carefully orchestrated to increase the shock value and attain higher TV ratings.
Maya Sieber, one of the only three women drivers featured on the show, has confirmed that the show was "definitely not staged." Sieber — who came onto the show without much prior experience driving on ice roads — felt the show wasn't as easy as she hoped it to be, and the stunts were more dangerous than they appear on TV.
However, Rick Yemm, who was on "Ice Road Truckers" until Season 6, alleged the network designed and exploited truckers' personalities. He claimed that he was incorrectly portrayed as a constantly brash person, and similar treatment was meted out to most of the cast members, including Hugh Rowland, who refused to watch the show at one point due to the producers’ manipulations.