A MAN is appealing against his speeding fine and had his conviction quashed by using Google Earth.

    Mustafa Al Shakarji, 24, was ordered to pay a $200 fine and court costs of $71.50 after a magistrate in Bowen, northern Queensland, refused to accept all of his evidence when he represented himself.

    But the fourth-year pharmacy student will try to overturn the speeding fine a second time after the Brisbane District Court ordered a re-trial in the Townsville Magistrates Court.

    Al Shakarji was adamant he was not doing 57km/h in a 40km/h school zone in April 2009. Using Google Earth, which allowed navigation through satellite imagery, he argued he was not the motorist sighted speeding "down the hill".

    District Court Judge Douglas McGill agreed there was "reasonable doubt" and found the magistrate may have unduly restricted cross-examination by the defendant. A date was not set for the second hearing.