San Mateo's streets are set to get a sobering cleanse come April 12 as the local police enforce a DUI checkpoint aimed at deterring or nabbing those who toss caution—and sober laws—to the wind. According to a briefing on Nixle, the San Mateo Police Department will run the legal dragnet from 6 PM to 2 AM on E. 4th Avenue, a strategy informed by statistics of boozy blunders leading to past pile-ups. The Police Department's Traffic Sergeant Craig Collom said, "Impaired drivers put others on the road at significant risk," underscoring that a safer San Mateo is a less sloshed San Mateo.

Were you to gamble and lose against the sobriety stakes, the cost of such a misadventure goes beyond a sore head and a night ruined—those caught under the influence for the first time are slapped with an average of $13,500 in fines, not to mention their driving privileges getting clipped by a suspended license. And it ain't just alcohol that'll land motorists in hot water. The police department's announcement alerted that lawfully acquired intoxicants like prescription meds and marijuana, despite their legal status, can likewise impair driving and are equally unlawful when behind the wheel.

The checkpoint isn't just an impromptu inconvenience or a show of force. It’s part of a funded program to prevent road tragedies before they unfold. The life-saving exercise is bankrolled by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety and funneled through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an investment in public safety signaling a continued prevalence of DUI episodes that the San Mateo force is keen to curtail.

According to the San Mateo Police Department's announcement, this checkpoint is a well-charted course for community safety, one that rejects the excuse of ignorance and demands accountability with the weight of the law and the price tag of penalties.