THE Far North's top traffic cop is bracing for a horror 2008 following the region's eighth fatal crash this year.

A Kanimbla man, 53, was killed instantly when his four-wheel-drive veered off the Bruce Highway and slammed into a large tree south of Gordonvale just before 10am yesterday.

Police said he was driving to Brisbane to start a new job.

His Honda CRV left the road on a sweeping bend about 2km south of the Mulgrave River bridge.

"Witnesses say the vehicle came around the bend and continued on a straight path," Far North traffic co-ordinator Insp Bob Waters said.

"There was no evidence of any braking. This one’s very unusual in that he went off the road for no apparent reason.

"We’re looking at such issues as fatigue, distraction and we’re not ruling out the possibility he had a medical condition."

Insp Waters said the impact was horrific.

"The vehicle was severely damaged, which would indicate he hasn’t slowed at all," he said.

The forensic crash unit is investigating.

An autopsy will be performed on the man, whose name is yet to be released, to determine if a medical condition was a factor in the accident.

He was the seventh person killed on the region’s roads in less than two months and the fifth on the Bruce Highway this year.

Insp Waters described the toll as alarming and said the spate of serious, but non-fatal, crashes recently should serve as a warning to motorists to drive with more care.

"Our road toll is escalating and if we keep up this trend, we’re in for a horror year," he said.

"It’s a disturbing trend."

A 44-year-old man was killed after the car in which he was a passenger lost control and rolled on the Bruce Highway near Forest Gardens last Thursday.

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