Alarming footage has shown a car heading the wrong way on Canberra's high-speed Tuggeranong Parkway at night, forcing other vehicles to take evasive action.

Key points: The head of ACT Policing's traffic operations says he is shocked by the footage

The head of ACT Policing's traffic operations says he is shocked by the footage The Tuggeranong Parkway is one of Canberra's busiest arterial roads

The Tuggeranong Parkway is one of Canberra's busiest arterial roads The man who captured the video says other drivers tried and failed to get the driver's attention

Thanh Vu captured the incident on his dashcam last night just after midnight, as he was driving home.

"I tried to overtake the car in front of me and I saw the other car in the same lane as me, high-beaming me," Mr Vu said.

"I was like 'what's happening?'"

Mr Vu's footage shows him pulling into the right-hand lane of one of the ACT's busiest roads, questioning what is happening in front of him and quickly steering back into the left lane.

A car can then be seen driving past.

"I was doing 100 kilometres per hour," Mr Vu said.

"I'm not sure how fast the other one is going so it is a bit scary."

'Totally irresponsible': Police review video

ACT police say they have viewed the footage and are examining the incident.

The officer in charge ACT Policing's of traffic operations, Marcus Boorman, said he could not believe what he was watching.

"I was shocked … it's totally irresponsible," he said.

"I don't think people … think about the consequences of their actions, because obviously cars colliding from opposite directions result in a serious injury or even worse."

Acting Station Sergeant Boorman said the video was a reminder to motorists to remain vigilant.

"You can't predict what other drivers might do on the road," he said.

"You may be doing all the right things but, because someone makes a very poor decision or is just being totally stupid and reckless, you need to be prepared to take evasive action."

Mr Vu said he and other drivers on the road tried to get the attention of the driver heading the wrong way.

"All of us were high-beaming him or her to just to make sure that the driver got a signal," he said.

"But he or she just kept driving."

The incident happened just four days after Canberra's fourth fatal road crash this year.