INUVIK - RCMP took to the streets and schools to promote road safety last week.

The initiative was part of National Road Safety Week, May 13-19, said Const. Jim Craig.

Const. Kile Pharis of the Inuvik RCMP is one of the officers who took part in National Road Safety Week. The detachment ran many checkstops to ensure that people were obeying traffic laws. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

"We did checkstops and visited the elementary school to talk with students," said Craig

Craig said that even though the detachment used random checkstops to check for seatbelts, few tickets were issued.

"We gave people warnings and told them to be safe," he said.

"Obviously people don't want a traffic ticket, but our goal is to keep the community safe."

Craig said that the people who were stopped during the week were all co-operative.

"Everyone we dealt with was great, they were all receptive to the checkstops," he said.

Craig said that educating people about the laws is important.

"There are people out there who don't wear seatbelts," said Craig.

"The more awareness we spread, the more compliance we will have."Craig said that the time spent in the school was good because they were able to educate students about bike safety as well as the rules of the road.

"We told them the basics, look both ways and to walk against traffic on the side of the road," said Craig.

Craig said that most students are obeying the rules and using helmets and hand signals properly.

"We got a good reaction from the students as well," he said.

"They know how to be safe, which is important.

Another important safety issue that RCMP tackled was safety on ice.

"It's especially important to remind youth about how dangerous ice can be at this time of year," said Craig.

The detachment is planning another battery of checkstops in the summer, said Craig.

Craig added that most people got off with a warning at the checkstops.

"There was some leeway instead of a ticket in most cases," said Craig.

No numbers or statistics have been released about the week yet.