Ice Road Rescue (S5)

The roads we drive on from day to day keep in our lane for the most part. The stuff we use to make roads, Asphalt concrete, is a careful mix of layered materials that give your tires something to hold on to when you’re going around a bend. The problem with ice is even a small amount can turn tar roads from sandpaper to slip-and-slides. Over 1,300 people perish, and more than 116,800 people are injured in vehicle crashes on snowy, slushy or icy pavement annually, according to the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.

To save lives on icy roads, you need to be alert, tough as nails and dependable. Cold weather, failing brakes, and low visibility are the standard conditions in this dangerous calling. Every day brings with it new and dangerous challenges.

Also, life’s troubles come knocking. The rescuers must expand their territories to stay in business, forcing them out of their comfort zones. The veterans, as skilled as they are, can’t do this forever, so it’s time for the next generation to take up the mantle.

This dangerous job is a thrill to witness.

Tuesdays at 7 PM on National Geographic (ch 220) from 6^th of October