Abbott escapes death to discuss road safety

Alex de Vos
Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott almost died on his way to inspect a “perilous” section of the Princes Highway at Winchelsea on Wednesday morning.
Mr Abbott’s car had slowed on the highway to make a right turn when a van pulled out from behind his vehicle and into the path of a semi-trailer.
Shocked journalists, photographers and politicians watched in horror as the truck careered off the road and into the dirt.
The truck almost toppled as it missed Mr Abbott’s car and the van by a few metres. All three vehicles later emerged from a cloud of dust unscathed.
A mildly shaken yet composed Mr Abbott told the waiting press he was “very pleased and relieved no one was hurt”.
He later admitted the accident caused him to “let the F-word fly”.
“I was probably a bit lucky because I only saw it after it was kind of finished,” he said.
“The driver did a great job in keeping his vehicle upright in that situation – it could have been a very nasty situation.”
Mr Abbott said the near miss was an example of “how perilous this road can be”.
“You can never entirely eliminate the dangers on the road but the better the roads are the less hazards there are for traffic and the less risk there is for motorists.”
Mr Abbott was visiting the region to inspect the Princes Highway following calls to duplicate the stretch between Geelong and Winchelsea.
Mr Abbott later visited Belmont’s Zen Bakery on his whirlwind tour of the region alongside Liberal candidate for Corangamite Sarah Henderson.
Mr Abbott used the visit to highlight the impact of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s emissions trading scheme on small businesses.
The bakery’s electricity bill would rise $1000 a month under Mr Rudd’s “great big new tax”, he said.
“It’s not just big businesses that are going to be hurt by Mr Rudd’s emissions trading scheme.”