Magistrates waived court costs in the case of an Unsworth window fitter who claimed there was no indication of the speed limit when he was stopped for driving at nearly twice the legal 30mph limit.
Darren Blythe told the bench at Rochdale: "My licence is my job. I try to be a model citizen and I don't get into the car tospeed. I genuinely thought the limit was the national one of 60mph because there was no indication it was 30mph."
Blythe (21), of Hillsborough Drive, admitted he drove his BMW on Heywood Old Road in Middleton, at 59 mph, after being advised that, unless a 60mph limit was clearly indicated, the speed limit was 30mph.
He was fined £80 with six penalty points added to his licence.
Blythe added: "I've been up and down that road hundreds of times and there is no 30mph sign on any lamp-post, so I thought I could go up to the national limit.
"It was a wide open road with no other vehicles on it at the time. I admit now I made a mistake but it was a genuine mistake. I was not deliberately speeding."
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