A few hours ago, parking know-it-all David LaBua, author of parking bible Finding the Sweet Spot, dared you to guess which parking mistake makes our fair city of San Francisco millions of dollars per year.

Question: What is the most frequently cited parking violation in San Francisco?

A) Meter violations. 

B) Street sweeping violations

C) Double parking by commercial trucks

D) Parking your vehicle in the wrong direction

E) None of the above

Answer:  B)  Street sweeping violations

A) With over 24,000 meters in use in the City, one might think that this would definitely be number one. But, meter violations are a close second. Recent info shows that SF collected about $17 million a year in revenue from parking meter-related parking citations.

C) While annoying, and all too common, this violation is sometimes caused by inconsiderate truck drivers, but most often caused by non-commercial drivers parking in loading zones reserved for the trucks.

D) While this is a citable parking offense that was often turned a blind eye to, and allowed in neighborhoods, such as Bernal Heights, where doing a u-turn is tough; this is now becoming a regularly cited parking violation as the City needs your money.

Says David: The most recent data I have shows 662,533 street sweeping citations totaling over $26 million in fines. Getting a street sweeping ticket is very avoidable by following these simple steps:

•    Follow the basic steps of parking orientation that we discussed last week: What day is it, what time is it, and is there a parking sign within 100 feet of your car.  Really, asking yourself,  “What day is it today, and what day and time will it be when I get my car next?” will not only verify your current state of sobriety, but will also save you an expensive donation to the city of San Francisco.
•    Set your smart phone’s calendar function just once to give you weekly reminders about street sweeping…the night before, and 10 minutes before.  There are some cool phone apps that Laura Mason mentions in her transportation blog to help you avoid a street sweeping ticket.  I’ve yet to try them, but they seem like they could be amazing.
•    When out late, say on a Tuesday night, remember, Tuesday becomes Wednesday at 12:00am.  So, a street sign that says “Street Sweeping Wednesday 2 am – 4 am” may apply to you as you are parking on a Tuesday night.

To see a live running total of SF parking citation revenue click here!