A CAIRNS businessman was killed instantly when his four-wheel-drive slammed into a tree at high speed during a horror day on the city's roads.

"Speed is definitely a factor."

A 1km stretch of the arterial road was blocked while emergency workers spent three hours clearing the wreck from the road.

Traffic was backed up, at one stage for several kilometres, as vehicles were turned back or diverted down side roads.

The man was a director of a Cairns tourism company but his name is yet to be released.

Environmental Protection Agency officers were called to monitor the clean-up of engine oil which had leaked into a nearby ditch, fearing it would flow into the Barron River.

About 8.30am, a semi-trailer and a truck towing tree-lopping equipment collided on the Captain Cook Highway between Buchan Point and Ellis Beach.

The occupants emerged unscathed despite the larger truck being shunted off the road and both vehicles being badly damaged.

The semi-trailer's driver Mick Bourke said he was shaken up by the accident.

"We were all right, no injuries," he said.

"There might be a few dirty undies though." Police were also called to a minor crash on Martyn St later in the afternoon and another on McLeod St.

Insp Jackson said motorists needed to heed the basic precautions, including slowing down, when driving in wet weather.

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