A Sebastopol driving instructor who was allegedly caught driving twice the speed limit said he was speeding because he wanted to clean up a mess made when dropping off glass recycling.
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Jeffrey Bruce Robinson, 56, represented himself in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Monday, as he tried to get one of his work vehicles released from the Sheriff's Office.
The Subaru was impounded by police on October 13, after he was allegedly caught travelling 128km/h in a 60 km/h zone in Grant Street at 9.30am. The seizure was part of Operation Amadeus.
Robinson said he was dropping bottles off at one of City of Ballarat's glass recycling spots, when he spilled some liquid from one of the bottles, and "wanted to go home quickly to wash it".
The man said he needed the impounded manual vehicle for a student's driving test on Tuesday, and it was required for teaching around 30 per cent of his clients.
"I urgently need my car all the time," he said. "I've had a week of remorse for what a stupid fool I was for the expensive and embarrassing situation I've put myself in.
"I've behaved extremely stupidly, and I've got my kids here (in court) as well to show them there's consequences to all our actions."
Magistrate Letizia Torres granted the man's application to have his car released, but told the man if the speeding charge was proven in court, he would likely lose his license for 12 months.
"Because you were speeding at such a high speed over the limit, (impoundment) is the consequence that follows from that," she said.
"I've granted it... so you are able to operate your business on the basis of your profession, and because the charge is not even before the court yet."
Robinson will return to court at a later date.
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