On the night of Aug. 8, the first night of the music festival in Golden Gate Park, Outside Lands, uniformed officers lined Tiburon Boulevard, conducting sobriety and license checks as they directed drivers to a halt. Rows of orange cones and flashing lights lined the streets, serving as a crucial reminder to drivers. These signs highlight the risks of getting behind the wheel while impaired.

For students who happened to pass by, the scene was intimidating. The checkpoint’s importance was hard to ignore, especially for younger drivers who were unfamiliar with the process.

Junior Riya Pyle was driving to Old Tiburon that evening when the bright spotlights lit up the scene, signaling for her to pull over for a driving under the influence (DUI) check.

“The setup for the DUI testing and license check looked really intense and serious,” Pyle said.

Junior Iris Hawks drove by that night, describing how the flashing lights and police presence was unnerving, especially while driving at night. As she approached the checkpoint, she worried about what might happen if she didn’t have all her documents ready, despite not having done anything wrong.

“I didn’t know if I would get into any trouble or what was going to happen,” Hawks said.

When running these checkpoints, each operation requires significant staffing and planning. At least six officers are present each time, with costs covered by grants provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety. Tiburon Police Chief, Sergeant John Gomez explains how that process works within the Tiburon Police Department. 

 “Tiburon has an overtime budget to allow officers to get paid for extra hours,” Gomez said. “But if we used all of that budget for DUI checkpoints, it would diminish quickly. The Office of Traffic Safety funds us by giving grants that we would apply for. The specific budgets are for DUIs and driver’s license checkpoints.”

The Tiburon Police Department has been running DUI checkpoints for years, but officials say the purpose goes far beyond issuing tickets or making arrests. According to Sergeant Gomez, the focus is on prevention.

“The main point is deterrence. We want people to know that we’re out checking for DUIs,” Gomez said. “We want them to be safe and use all these available resources like Lyft and Uber. On top of that, having young drivers be aware that there are impaired drivers on the roadway as well is a big part of it.”

For teens especially, the visibility of these checkpoints highlights the risks of impaired driving.

“I think these checks are helpful to the Tiburon community since they are late at night, which is when either parents or teenagers could be drinking and driving and abusing their privileges,” Pyle said.