I’d like to share with you the plans for Unpaved/Dirt roads, and what is currently happening in the different areas of this project.
I’ve spoken with many of you in the past month regarding the expected behavior of Unpaved routing, and the local challenges in each country.
You can see what has already been raised and discussed here: https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.ph … 5&t=183573
Let’s start from the beginning:
Not too long ago there was only one option to mark unpaved roads, and it was using the 4X4/dirt-road segment type in WME.
By doing so, we added a 1 hour penalty to these roads, and if marked “avoid” in the client app - routing will avoid.
This raised a few issues across the different countries and driving habits, as some editors used the segment type strictly for hard terrain 4X4 roads, and others used it for poorly maintained but still drivable roads.
UR’s would be reported by drivers who got routed on a road their car couldn’t pass through, and others would report they expected a different routing experience which included types of dirt-roads.
All this, and with the help of the local communities, led us to the solution of adding the “Unpaved” attribute in WME, enabling editors to mark streets and highways as still drivable but less maintained.
A slight miss communication occurred, and the translation for 4X4/Dirt-road was changed also to “Unpaved” in WME, causing even more confusion as to how the mechanism works and what should be used.
What we have now:
“Unpaved” road attribute that can be added to any road type. It should have been enabled to do exactly what the segment type does, but due to infrastructure complications it is not working.
Current status - “Unpaved” attribute has no affect on routing.
“Unpaved” segment type that used to be 4X4/Dirt road.
Behaves exactly the same as before.
The Plan:
First and most importantly we would like to enable the “Unpaved” attribute in routing.
We are working on an IFS upgrade and once it’s done we will apply the change. “Unpaved” attribute will apply a 1 hour penalty and will be avoided if marked “avoid” in client app.
Next, to avoid further confusion we will change the translation for the “Unpaved” road segment type to “Off-road/Not maintained” - This road type will be used strictly for hard terrain/special vehicle type driving.
We don’t plan to currently support 4X4 vehicle type in the app, but to your request we will still leave the option to map these paths.
On the routing side, this segment type will receive a 3 hour penalty to reduce the chances of drivers getting stuck in the mud.
I am also looking into the option of converting the “Unpaved” segments that are currently in WME to regular streets, or any other type by country, with a checked “Unpaved” attribute.
For USA checking the possibility by States.
Client app will show “Unpaved” roads special color, like dirt roads have.
Off-road/Not maintained - Will not be shown in client or livemap.
There’s also a future plan to insert an indication in client routing, to notify driver that the route goes through unpaved roads (when enabled).
I hope I didn’t miss anything, feel free to ask questions!
And please remember that we can’t take into account every driving option/preference in the world, Waze is a daily commute app targeting normal cars and common driving habits.
