‘Anti-speed’ Sussex MP tells of shame at totting ban

1:40pm Friday 26th October 2012 in News By Bill Gardner

Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames

An MP who campaigns against speeding has been banned from the roads after being repeatedly caught driving too fast.

Nicholas Soames was clocked travelling at 51mph in a 30mph zone in his Audi – the third time he has been caught flouting traffic laws in four years.

After the ruling at Mid Sussex Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday (October 17), the Mid Sussex MP told The Argus: “These things happen. Haven’t you ever gone over the speed limit?”

But one angry father, whose baby son died in a crash in Mr Soames’s constituency, accused the MP of thinking he was “above the law”.

Mr Soames, who is Winston Churchill’s grandson, was spotted speeding in London Road, Handcross, in June. He already had six points on his licence for offences in November 2009 and March 2011.

On his official website he pledges to “fight speeding traffic all over the constituency and improve road safety for all”.

Mr Soames said: “I’m embarrassed to have found myself in front of the bench and I certainly regret the whole thing.

“I’m disappointed that I breached my own standards in this matter.”

Guilty plea

The 64-year-old, who pleaded guilty in writing, was banned from driving for two weeks, given a £666 fine, and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Steve Mohabir was the only survivor of a two-car crash in May 2004 on the A23 at Pyecombe in Mr Soames’ constituency.

The smash, which was caused by a speeding car, left eight people dead including his baby son.

He said Mr Soames should be “ashamed” to be caught driving too fast for a third time.

He said: “Mr Soames clearly thinks he is above the law. I can’t believe he said ‘these things happen’ because they just shouldn’t.

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“My son lost his life and we are still coming to terms with it. He obviously doesn’t care about safety or anyone else on the road.”

A spokesman for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “Speed limits are in place for everyone’s safety, and it is particularly alarming to see a public figure like Nicholas Soames repeatedly flouting traffic laws and needlessly putting lives at risk.

“A two-week ban and a £666 fine is simply not enough, and we would like to see courts hand out tougher penalties to traffic offenders in order to create a real deterrent.”

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Comments(26)

fishy_face says...
1:50pm Fri 26 Oct 12

2 weeks ban seems no deterrent at all, should have been minimum 2 years

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Cash Cow says...
2:26pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Fines like these, speeding etc, should be based on a percentage of salary rather than fixed amounts. What I am saying is, if I get fined £666 it would really hurt, for someone on Soames's salary plus expenses, wouldn't notice any hardship or difficulty paying, so the amount doesn't represent much of a punishment. Then of course, during the ban, he has staff who can drive him around, or he has the option of using a taxi then claiming the fare back on his expenses, which is probably what he will do anyway.

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Cash Cow says...
2:40pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Hoarder123........ Sometimes comments really make me chuckle, yours was funny, hope it doesn't get deleted : )

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blacktopsoldier says...
2:51pm Fri 26 Oct 12

typical don't do as I do,do as I say.

are the magistrates friends?,the fine and more so the ban is a joke.

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RickH says...
3:04pm Fri 26 Oct 12

And today's programme has been brought to you by the letter 'H' and the word 'hypocrite'.....with apologies to Big Bird and co :)

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sbiscorrupt says...
3:32pm Fri 26 Oct 12

£666 fine...

The mark of the devil...

A fat one at that!

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bogs says...
4:00pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Hoarder12345444 wrote:
Oh fat old "4 jobs" Soames. Typical fat cat Tory who thinks he owns the roads. No wonder he drives an Audi either. Must be a powerful one to move that fat lard ar** about!!
Not bitter then!

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Dave500 says...
4:12pm Fri 26 Oct 12

London Road, Handcross? Favourite plod mugging point. 30 limit is perfectly justified at school times but plain ridiculous at quiet times, especially heading out of Handcross. Wide road with bags of visibility. Now of course we don't know what time the offences occured or in which direction so we cannot say if his driving was safe or not but hopefully instead of pleading shame like all MPs, Soames might actually use his power to call for more sensible limits and common sense enforcement of such.

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peebee9 says...
4:13pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Another "Don't do as i do, do as i tell you" politician.

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Hoarder12345444 says...
4:32pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Cash Cow wrote:
Hoarder123........ Sometimes comments really make me chuckle, yours was funny, hope it doesn't get deleted : )
Thanks!! Well he's a joke and owns Mid Sussex as there is a lot of Tory support up there so has an easy life. He has 4 others jobs and makes a right old mint and still get a massive MP salary, he sent me a letter, think that's all he does. I never see him actually doing anything positive in Mid Sussex. I bet he lives in a nice big house in Ditchling too, in with all the other top Tory people.

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Hoarder12345444 says...
5:15pm Fri 26 Oct 12

bogs wrote:
Hoarder12345444 wrote:
Oh fat old "4 jobs" Soames. Typical fat cat Tory who thinks he owns the roads. No wonder he drives an Audi either. Must be a powerful one to move that fat lard ar** about!!
Not bitter then!
Bitter, no how am I bitter?? I just can't stand rich Tory boys who do nothing for society.

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Dave500 says...
6:08pm Fri 26 Oct 12

The statement "The smash, which was caused by a speeding car" is a little misleading. Whilst campaigners like to use such cases to argue on speed limit enforcement and setting it has to be pointed out that this was more than a 'speeding car', it was reported as a 19 year old driver with traces of cannabis seen tailgating and undertaking in a car full of other youngsters, said to have been racing at up to 100MPH. This is fairly typical of cases used by campaigners, particularly Brake who invariably and usually deliberately fail to mention all the other factors involved. They seem unable to find genuine cases of people killed by sober, otherwise legal drivers travelling a little over the speed limit. I have yet to hear them quote one.

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sussexram40 says...
6:48pm Fri 26 Oct 12

I was clocked for speeding once and got 3 points on my licence. It's frustrating but fact remains I was guilty and had broken the law. After that I took extra care to watch my speed. If this was a one-off first offence by Mr Soames I would excuse it but to get banned on the totting up rules shows he is a repeat offender who displays a total disregard for the laws and road safety. Yes, I would agree his is a hypocrite. Nobody is perfect but I do think we are entitled to expect that people who seek and attain roles like MPs are responsible and law abiding citizens who respect the laws of the land. Seems this man is not.

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nocando says...
7:28pm Fri 26 Oct 12

There but for the grace of god etc etc. You can pick up 6 points in 24hrs quite easily in this day and age. Cameras everywhere.

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mictrix says...
7:50pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Hoarder12345444 wrote:
Oh fat old "4 jobs" Soames. Typical fat cat Tory who thinks he owns the roads. No wonder he drives an Audi either. Must be a powerful one to move that fat lard ar** about!!
go to work and you can own one too...simple

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Paul M says...
8:05pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Dave500 wrote:
London Road, Handcross? Favourite plod mugging point. 30 limit is perfectly justified at school times but plain ridiculous at quiet times, especially heading out of Handcross. Wide road with bags of visibility. Now of course we don't know what time the offences occured or in which direction so we cannot say if his driving was safe or not but hopefully instead of pleading shame like all MPs, Soames might actually use his power to call for more sensible limits and common sense enforcement of such.
Let me see, "Dave500" - does the "500" indicate how fast you like to drive? Are you a member of that swivel-eyed bunch of nutters, the "Association of British Drivers"?

Speed limits are set by road engineers in conjunction with traffic police, to represent the maximum safe speed for the particular conditions in good weather. Safety is not just about the occupannts of vehicles, but also other road users such as pedestrians. High speeds are intimidating to pedestrians and cyclists and force them off the roads, making the roads seem safer than they really are - the only reason why our pedestrian casualty count has dropped is that hardly anyone walks near a road these days.

It's time the majority reclaimed the roads from the selfish gits who apparebntly believe - against all the evidence - that they are better drivers than the rest of us, and that they have some sort of entitlement to drive like d*ckheads.

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bogs says...
8:12pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Hoarder12345444 wrote:
bogs wrote:
Hoarder12345444 wrote:
Oh fat old "4 jobs" Soames. Typical fat cat Tory who thinks he owns the roads. No wonder he drives an Audi either. Must be a powerful one to move that fat lard ar** about!!
Not bitter then!
Bitter, no how am I bitter?? I just can't stand rich Tory boys who do nothing for society.
I can smell the bile from here.

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gusset snatcher says...
10:12pm Fri 26 Oct 12

I bet the fat sack of sh*te's been fiddling his expenses as well..... stick a pin in him and watch him go like a balloon

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gusset snatcher says...
10:15pm Fri 26 Oct 12

And he's the grandson of that traitor who colluded with Lord Semphill costing thousands of lives.

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Cabin fever says...
10:36pm Fri 26 Oct 12

nocando wrote:
There but for the grace of god etc etc. You can pick up 6 points in 24hrs quite easily in this day and age. Cameras everywhere.
Or just drive within the speed limits and you pick up none.

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Terry K says...
11:08pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Can we also have a crackdown on M23 North and southbound tailgaiting bullies such as, National express coach drivers, all courier drivers, Royal mail HGV's, Gatwick cars cab drivers, white van man, skip lorry man, young women with no lane discipline and telepathic indicators, and highway agency 4x4's going to slow!

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Poccypoc says...
11:33am Sat 27 Oct 12

Two-week ban? Probably takes long than that to enter the details on the Police National Computer!

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Old Ladys Gin says...
1:35pm Sat 27 Oct 12

Such a short ban is a complete and utter insult to everyone else in the county.
Time and time again we see the 'gentry' slipping through the net.
A nod a wink a pat on the back and they are away with it.
To have so many speeding fines means something very simple; the man has a problem with speed control and cannot exercise due restraint.
Continue like this matey and you will be up before the beak for something much more serious that a slap on the back won't mend.

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AmboGuy says...
3:25pm Mon 29 Oct 12

I can remember growing up in Mid Sussex years ago seeing stickers with a caricature of Soames getting a kick up the a** saying 'Kick Fatty Soames out of Sussex' - think a Labour supporter made loads of them and stuck them everywhere. That made me chuckle.

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Terry Hudson says...
5:30pm Tue 30 Oct 12

Why people can not get it through their heads that speeding does not automatically mean dangerous. Speed limits are often downgraded against police advice. All County councils have a policy of downgading speed limits and with parish councillors seeking a few extra votes at the next election from local NIMBY's, keep demanding for lower limits. Yet these are the self same people that get caught speeding down somebody elses road!
Roads are now just a confusion of speed limits that have no bearing on the actual road layout, safety or anything else.
We have handed over our NATIONAL road system to a load of hypocritical bigots who have in most part an anti-mobility agenda.
Some police officers have built their careers on anti-speeding propaganda, then dismiss it as 'an error of judgement' when they get caught.
The whole spectrum of establishment anti-speeding campaigners are just a bunch of total hypocrites.
So if you want more of the same, just keep voting for the major political party's, if you want change then lets see what others have to offer. Do not just sit at home and wallow in your own apathy!

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Cash Cow says...
5:08am Wed 31 Oct 12

I recieved a letter through the post a few days ago with the dreaded Sussex Police logo. I was recorded at driving at 58mph in a 40 zone. I saw the huge 40mph signs as well as the speed camera signs though opted to drive exceeding the speed limit, so I only have myself to blame and wouldn't expect and won't get any sympathy from either a judge or contributors to this thread, though I will say this. I was speeding at about 01:30am on the A23 at Handcross where the roadworks are, there were no workman about, there were no other vehicles on the road, except the Post Office lorry which actually overtook me, two of the three lanes were open, the weather was fine and driving conditions were good. This is all supposed to be about road safety, though an average driver in a modern car could easily have driven along that road at that time at 70mph, the usual speed limit, perfectly safely. So I will return the form, pay my fine and get my points endorsed, and probably some criticism of my posting on this thread, that's OK, but I do feel like a victim of quick and easy revenue collecting on a mass scale!

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