The video footage from the incident on Thursday was taken in the southern tourist town of Antalya and shown on Turkish television channels. It shows a baby crawling out of the arms of his mother, who had fallen asleep while begging on the sidewalk.
The baby is seen climbing down the sidewalk and sitting on the side of the highway, just a couple of feet away from passing vehicles in heavy highway traffic.
The pair had been taking a daytime nap under trees close by when the toddler woke and crawled off, the mother said.
Anatolia news agency says drivers called the police, who returned the baby to his mother. Turkish police later questioned the mother but she was released without charge.