The spawning-right-in-front-of-your-face is a bug IMO and should be fixed. Same as AI running through other AI cars, also a bug and should be fixed.
But dodging traffic is pretty easy, even with blind corners. The AI pretty much does the same thing every time. If you want it easier, just turn down difficulty. Please don't gimp hard, it's easy enough as it is already.
And yes, I play on Hard, leveled two crews from 1 to 50 so I've had my share of high heat night races where you need to dodge traffic AND keep the cops off your tail. 😉
Learn the lines, there are always places to pass safely, even on blind corners. I have a few simple rules I adhere to and 95% those work perfectly.