A motorist fined for driving a vehicle without a windscreen and 300 others whose cars were deemed too dirty to be on the road feature on a comprehensive list of police traffic fines issued last year.

A total of 72,000 traffic offences were flagged by the police who issued fines, including 200 to motorists who modified the vehicle’s silencer to make the engine sound louder.

The figures, tabled in Parliament by the Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela on Wednesday, show that a third of the fines dished out by the police in 2014 were for parking-related offences.

The most common parking violation was related to motorists leaving their cars in reserved spots without the necessary permits. The police issued 3,000 tickets for such an offence. About 2,000 fines were imposed on drivers who left their cars on pavements and even in alleyways.

Another 10,000 tickets were issued for “illegal parking” but no details are available.

Some 350 were fined for overly dirty cars

The information supplied reveals a number of extraordinary contraventions.

More than 500 tickets were issued for throwing litter out of car windows. About 4,600 motorists were pulled over after the police noticed they were not in complete control of their vehicle. Asked what this would mean, a former traffic police officer said motorists would either have been eating, tuning their radio or otherwise distracted while behind the wheel.

This offence, though, did not include the use of mobile phones because a whopping 6,414 tickets were expressly issued for making/receiving calls and/or texting while driving. Another 200 motorists were stopped for wearing headphones.

About 60 motorists were tracked down and fined for not stopping after being involved in an accident and 112 were reprimanded for dangerous driving. According to the ex-traffic policeman, this ranged from minor irregularities to far more dangerous ones.

“I once stopped someone for reversing his car in an arterial tunnel. The cherry on the cake was that one of his rear warning lights was not working at the time. When I asked him what he was doing, he replied: ‘Sorry I took the wrong turning’,” the former officer said, adding it turned out the driver was drunk.

Some 140 motorists were fined for driving under the influence, double the amount in 2013. About 23 refused to have a breathalyser test.

About 300 motorists were stopped because their vehicles had expired road licences, another 300 were fined for having no licence plates and 120 were fined because the number plates were too dirty to read.

A total of 4,325 fines were issued in the Valletta district, the highest across the islands. And twice the number of tickets issued in nightlife district of Paceville.

Meanwhile, just across the harbour, the three cities saw the least number of tickets issued.