DRIVERS on the Hume Highway in NSW were forced to veer out of the way as a motorist came barrelling the wrong way down the road.

Police at Goulburn in the state's Southern Tablelands started receiving calls just before 8am from motorists who reported a male driver travelling south down the northbound lanes of the highway at high speed.

Some drivers flashed their lights in a bid to alert the driver, police say.

Three police cars headed out but in the meantime another motorist flagged down the ACT-registered car.

Investigators were told that the member of the public tried for 20km to get the car's 59-year-old driver to stop.

Police attempted to speak with the driver, who was visibly unwell and confused.

The man was issued with a court attendance notice for dangerous driving and is required to appear at Goulburn Local Court on December 12.

His licence was also suspended.