SteveLightspeed

Transcript of live chat with Rick, from "Ice Road Truckers"
(I entered about 10 minutes after it started, some interesting info here)



|: Website question: What do you eat while driving?
|: Rick Yemm: 99 percent of the time I eat sandwiches. Sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
|: Ham, roast beef, egg salad. It's just easier to grab a bunch of sandwiches and go then to sit down and
|: eat, which takes too much time.
|: *
|: HugheyLewey-guest says: They drug test you once when you get there, do they do it anymore during the 12 months?
|: Rick Yemm: Only if there's an accident or something like that do you need to get tested again.
|: *
|: Or if they want to pick on you.
|: *
|: Website question: I am a rookie truck driver any advice ?
|: Rick Yemm: Yes, you'd be perfect for the winter roads, you have no bad habits.!
|: *
|: guest-Shelby-2 says: Are you really typing your answers or is someone composing and typing them for you?
|: Rick Yemm: I'm saying the answers and someone's typing them for me, I don't know how to type.
|: *
|: jay-guest says: Do people bring there own trucks up, or drive ones already there?
|: Rick Yemm: Some companies supply trucks and a lot of them bring in subcontractor truckers.
|: *
|: Website question: Who do you think is the most solid professional driver out of you six and why
|: Rick Yemm: I'd have to say it's a toss up between Alex and Jay. They both live there and deal with the people
|: all of the time. Alex because he has 11 kids and needs all of the money he can get.
|: Jay because he's young and takes his job pretty serious and becuase of the equipment he runs and he's good at his job.
|: *
|: Website question: Why dont u spred weight on wide tracks
|: Rick Yemm: We have trucks going northbound and southbound, we can only make the landcrossing
|: so wide because of environmental regulations. So, we only have so much to work with.
|: *
|: Website question: I haven't seen any Mack trucks yet. I'm from Mass. is this a regional thing?
|: Rick Yemm: No, there are a couple of Mack's up there, but they're kind of a thing of the past.
|: *
|: doc-guest says: What is your biggest concern doing this type of work, OTHER than going through the ice?
|: Rick Yemm: The biggest thing is being away from home, that's a long time to be away from home. I'm not
|: sure that classifies as a concern or not.
|: *
|: Sharon-guest says: Can you turn the camera off if you want to or is there a required amount of time for it to be on?
|: Rick Yemm: I have complete control of the mounted camera in my truck.
|: *
|: guest-Slick says: Do you pick what you want to pull?
|: Rick Yemm: No, Tlicho gives us the order and we go.
|: *
|: Website question: What's your favorite type of truck?
|: Rick Yemm: A Western Star.
|: *
|: Website question: What are the months that the road is open? Would greatly enjoy running the ice roads the rest of my life.
|: Rick Yemm: They're usually open sometime around the end of January and close about the first week of April.
|: *
|: llg-guest says: how are the lakes "tested" before trucks are able to drive on it?
|: Rick Yemm: A sonar machine is dragged across and it measures the ice.
|: *
|: kel-guest says: have you ever seen any animals stranded where they shouldnt be? what do u do
|: Rick Yemm: That's more like a security concern, we don't even worry about stuff like that.
|: *
|: guest-JamesC says: What do you think about comparisons between your show and Deadliest Catch?
|: Rick Yemm: I don't really think much about them, the comparisons are that we're both in extreme cold.
|: That's about the only comparison.
|: They're on a boat and I'm on a truck. We've got a guy named Hugh, and they've got a guy named Sig.
|: Taylor-guest says: What would make you stop driving on the ice road?
|: *
|: Rick Yemm: I don't think anything would stop me from doing it. Just me, if I didn't want to do it anymore.
|: *
|: guest-themine-2 says: if there is a truck coming northbound and you are going southbound, does the ice break open?
|: Rick Yemm: If you have two, one going north and one going south to about 3 to 4 miles per hour so you don't
|: have the inertia of both trucks working against each other and blow the ice out.
|: You need to slow down.
|: *
|: guest-Larry says: Does using chains on the ice crack it if the loads are heavy?
|: Rick Yemm: Yes, it does.
|: *
|: You don't use chains unless absolutely necessary.
|: *
|: guest-lornadoone says: is there a hospital nearby?
|: Rick Yemm: There's one in Yellowknife. If anything happens on the road you're flown there in a helicopter.
|: *
|: Chase-guest says: Do the trucks play tricks on each other?
|: Rick Yemm: Oh sure we do, it kills the monatony.
|: *
|: VLS-guest says: How has being seen on national TV changed your life?
|: Rick Yemm: People talk to me on the Internet now. It hasn't aired in my home country yet, so
|: I can't really answer other than the Internet.
|: *
|: okiemarine-guest says: dose the cold temps have any affect on you at all other than frost bite?
|: Rick Yemm: Well, your lungs can freeze if you start breathing too heavy. Hypothermia. You can look up
|: what happens to the body in extreme cold on the Internet, that'll probably tell you better than I could.
|: *
|: Chuck-guest says: Do the trucks have cruise control, or do you have to constantly stay on the throttle?
|: Rick Yemm: A lot of the cruise controls in the trucks will not work that slow, so we just stick on the throttle peddle.
|: *
|: bosco-guest says: how many times have you or your crew been stuck up there and is this a regular occurence?
|: Rick Yemm: Yes, extreme weather up there shuts the roads down frequently.
|: *
|: HugheyLewey-guest says: Do you watch the show and is there anything you wouldnt do in front of the camera again?
|: Rick Yemm: No, there's nothing I could say I wouldn't do again. I've seen segments of the show, not the full
|: show but enough to know what's happening.
|: *
|: doc-guest says: How were you approached to do the show to begin with?
|: Rick Yemm: I got a phone call.
|: *
|: Slick-guest says: Do you plan on having your own trucking company some day?
|: Rick Yemm: Hell no! I'm not a truck driver.
|: *
|: guest-Larry says: What type of boots to you wear to keep your feet so warm. I would like to buy a pair for when I ice fish....
|: Rick Yemm: Baffin make the best boots for the cold weather.
|: *
|: guest-dave says: have you ever seen the road break open
|: Rick Yemm: Yeah, it happens all of the time. It opens on a regular basis.
|: *
|: pedro-guest says: Do people get arrested on the Ice Road? Do police monitor it?
|: Rick Yemm: No police, but security is involved and if there's an incident or something happens
|: that the police need to be called in - they get called in.
|: *
|: Website question: What was your biggest distraction while driving on the ice road?
|: Rick Yemm: Just being away from home, thinking about home.
|: *
|: Website question: do you like the cold?
|: Rick Yemm: I don't think anyone with a sane mind likes the cold, but I can deal with it.
|: *
|: Website question: How do the drivers get paid? At the end of the season? Weekly? Cash or check? By who? Thank you very much!
|: Rick Yemm: I got paid by Hugh and I just took one big check at the end of the year and if I needed money
|: I just got an advance.
|: *
|: Website question: does any one drive a 379 peterbilt
|: Rick Yemm: There's all different types of trucks up there.
|: *
|: Website question: how much coffe do you drink?
|: Rick Yemm: Lots!
|: *
|: Website question: what is the fastest speed or average speed during on of your hauls? Thanks Rick. Keep on hauling.
|: Rick Yemm: 25 kilometers, that's what you do pretty much the whole time you're up there. Sometimes you go slower.
|: *
|: Website question: Rick have you ever had any close calls on the Ice Road?
|: Rick Yemm: No, I don't think I have actually.
|: I haven't spun out yet, haven't had to chain up. I've been pretty lucky.
|: *
|: Website question: What was your most fearful run?
|: Rick Yemm: Driving through a snowstorm, had to open my door and watch down the side of my truck for the
|: snow bank to get across the lake. It took hours to get across a small lake.
|: *

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