A wild brawl has unfolded on a busy Newcastle road, after the occupants of two cars attacked each other in an apparent road rage incident.

The cars - a Mitsubishi hatchback and a Honda SUV - were driving northbound on Maitland Road in Sandgate about 4pm on Monday.

When they stopped at a red light, three men and a woman jumped out to confront one another and almost immediately began kicking and punching.

CJ Van Rensburg told Fairfax Media he was driving home from work when the violence began. It was captured on his dashboard camera.