I've lived in Istanbul for 11 years and you must have had your eyes shut mate. 3 lanes of traffic becomes 5; it's all about nosing in and cutting up; red lights are often rushed through for a few seconds after they change (if not more), pedestrian crossings are of no use whatsoever.

As for traffic violations and police stops, don't make me laugh. Driving in Istanbul is carefree - do whatever you want whenever you want (which is why there are so many road deaths... I don't think I know a single Turk who doesn't know of someone relatively close who has been lost in a traffic accident). You'll rarely if ever be stopped by the police. The only time I've been stopped or seen people stopped is by late night alcohol checks or trafik polis running spot checks - both of which you can always pay your way out of (and I have).

I know Turks are generally nationalistic and proud, but please learn to have some introspection, look inwardly, critcise and laugh. Too many subjects on the internet concerning Turkey or Turks get mobbed and trolled by Turks trying to put a positive spin, just because they don't want to see their country portrayed in any bad light internationally.

I was there in 2008 when I attended a conference near Taksim square. However, this was during Ramazan - so maybe traffic during Ramazan is worse then during the remainder of the year.

When I was there most crossings looked somewhat like this (warning: terrible video quality): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cYdHUmG100 (I had a green light when I passed this crossing as a pedestrian).