Northern Territory police have been left perplexed by a man who was spotted directing peak-hour traffic with a bag of frozen peas on one of Darwin's busiest roads.

Duty Superintendent Del Jones said a concerned member of the public reported a "Caucasian male in the middle of the road" at about 5:00pm on Monday.

The six-lane Bagot Road is one of Darwin's main arterials.

However the man fled, peas in hand, and was not found by police.

"Hopefully him and the peas are safe and sound at home," Duty Superintendent Jones said.

"It's quite dangerous to be directing traffic without being trained to do so and without protective high-vis clothing," she added.

"I have absolutely no idea why you'd try to direct traffic with frozen peas. Might've been trying to defrost them, I don't know," she said.

Territorians wrote on the NT Police Facebook page urging officers to "give peas a chance", with one asking whether the man could end up in "the can" if arrested.

Police said they were perplexed by the man's intentions as there was no traffic hazard on the road.

But Duty Superintendent Jones said she was not surprised as "very strange things happen at this time of the year in the Territory".

She urged citizens to leave traffic direction to police officers.

Territory Police suggested those who wish to pursue a career in traffic direction apply for a job with the Police Force via the NT Police website.