Be sure not to start the new year off on the wrong foot by being the first car of 2014 to be ticketed or towed.

New Year's Eve:
Everything will be enforced as usual on New Year's Eve.  

New Year's Day 2014
What will not be enforced on New Year's Day:
•    Commuter Tow-Away (ex. No Parking 3PM - 7 PM on the Embarcadero)
•    Residential Permit Areas
•    M-F Daytime Street Sweeping (ex. Street Sweeping Thursday 8-10 am)
•    7-Day Street Sweeping
•    SF Parking Meters and Port Authority Parking Meters
•    Non-Residential 1-Hour and 2-Hour Zones

What will be enforced on New Year's Day:   
•    White Zones, Green Zones, Some Yellow Zones (check the fine print on each particular sign about holidays), Blue Zones, Red Zones, Blocked Driveways, Uncurbed Wheels, Parking on Sidewalks, Parking on public grounds, etc.

The Day After New Year's Day
The day after New Year's (otherwise known as Thursday January 2nd, ) may feel like a holiday but it isn't. So, before you go to sleep on New Year's Day, remember where you've parked and check out the Thursday parking rules.

Also remember that New Year's Day begins at 12:00AM, so at the strike of midnight, you are safe from being ticketed for at least 24 hours. If you have too much to drink, and wisely decide to take a cab home, your car will be ticket-free until at least 11:59PM on New Year's Day.

Wherever you've parked on Wednesday, look at the signs and ask yourself if that spot is also safe on Thursday. If not, set an alarm to remind yourself to move it, because January second is like any other day.

If you can't be bothered by all of the rules, keep it simple: When you park, look up and down the street for 100 feet for any enforceable sign, and ask your self what day is it, what time is it.

Happy New Year!

David LaBua is the author of Finding the Sweet Spot,a leader in the sustainable urban mobility movement, and founder of VoicePark, the world’s first voice-guided mobile app guiding drivers to the closest available parking spot in real-time...for free. You can follow him on twitter@ParkingGuru.