Petty duel on NSW road almost ends in carnage

A highly dangerous duel between two drivers on a NSW road has ended in a near miss, with one of the vehicles almost coming to grief as the pair jostled to occupy a single lane.

Video of the incident uploaded to YouTube earlier this week shows a black Saab overtaking what looks to be a Hyundai, which has just merged right on a highway near Port Stephens.

Without any sign of hesitation whatsoever, the black Saab powers past its white rival and into the single lane ahead, apparently enraging the driver of the Hyundai, who promptly attempts to pull into the breakdown lane by stepping on the gas.

The driver of the Saab doesn’t relent, accelerating just as the Hyundai driver tries to nose in front in a breathtakingly reckless move that almost certainly would have ended in twisted metal.

Viewers will shake their heads at the stupidity and pointlessness of this brinksmanship, as did the fellow in front, who filmed the incident with a rear camera.

"No idea what was going on here," the uploader writes.

"I wasn't involved at all, and the rest of the drive appeared uneventful.

"Regos recorded. Clip kept short for brevity. Nothing else of interest before or after."