Today on the way back from work I noticed a significant traffic jam in the opposite lane which I reported but then I wondered what is the best practise for reporting a traffic jam in the opposite lane.
Should I report it:
a) as soon as I notice it’s a traffic jam
b) in the middle of it if I’m able to judge
c) at the end of it
If it’s a very long jam should I report it at more than one location?
I’m not sure how Waze works out the traffic reports that are submitted.
Thanks.
RossA
To be honest I’d possibly not bother, manual reports are aesthetic only and don’t affect routing. On top of that, “Other lane” reporting doesn’t currently work so the report would not trigger for either lane!
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They might not affect automatic routing, but since they can be visible on the map long before Waze decides the average speeds have dropped enough to show the road in yellow/red, they can provide useful advance warning to the observant user of potential problems ahead.
But you’ve no idea which direction they’re for and the question was regarding other lane reporting, for a split road it will still show on your lane, confusing the visual even more!
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True, although your reply seemed to suggest all reports were.a waste of time, with other lane ones being particularly so.
Having said that, if the person submitting the report has the time to add a quick explanatory note (something like “northbound”, “towards the lights” etc, is often sufficient) then that can turn a potentially pointless report into one which is genuinely useful.
True, I didn’t mean to imply all manual reports were superfluous. And yes a brief description is always welcome!
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Thanks for the feedback… still not sure which is the best point to submit it though - I’m guessing at the end as this is the point you would add a queue in your own lane…
It still doesn’t work on waze 3.5. I haven’t tested it yet. :?
I report it as soon as I hit the traffic jam. If I’m at the back of the queue at a standstill jam I report it. Waze then starts recording your average speed from that point and marks this speed on the map for other wazers.
On motorways and major roads I repeat the report after an entry lane from a junction. This lets wazers who are joining the motorway know traffic is heavy. Doing 30mph on a motorway doesn’t seem to bring up the “are you in traffic” message, only if you’re at a standstill.
As for other lanes. I do report them for single carriageways, but split roads I do not bother as it does not work at all. Waze really need to have a way of grouping carriageways of split roads to be one road.
Reporting the traffic jam increases the likelihood that the segment will be highlighted as having a slow speed [ref].
Probably not for ‘other lane’ though.
I would expect that reporting the tail end of the jam would be the most useful, as that’s where people will need to brake. However, jams tend to move backward along the flow of traffic, so it won’t be an accurate representation for long.
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions! 
Thanks for letting me know that ‘other lane’ makes not a blind bit of difference to anyone. I diligently report these but shan’t bother if they don’t help anyone.
Edited for spelling