How should we use the Turn Instruction Override (TIO) to instruct drivers to enter onramps?
Traditionally, the use of the Ramp road type for onramps forced us to choose between turn and exit. Long ago I remember disliking the “exit” instruction when given from a typical uncontrolled surface road in the absence of any signs with the word “exit”. But there was no alternative.
Then a funny thing happened. With constant exposure, I stopped minding hearing “exit” under such circumstances. By the time TIOs came out, I had come to define the word “exit” in Waze as do NOT continue in a travel lane of your current road, but depart on something that looks ramp-like, and at an angle that is nowhere steep enough to be called a turn.
If one defines “exit” this way, it turns out to be a Very Useful Instruction. It distinguishes (a)departing from the current road altogether from (b) situations where the travel lanes themselves fork and one must stay to the right to remain with the desired fork. As a driver I’ve come really to appreciate that distinction!
With the advent of the TIO, I’ve noticed at least one editor making what appears to be a practice of overriding “exit” onramp instructions with “stay to the right”, even when no travel lanes are lost from the originating roadway. Having got used to hearing “exit” in these cases I’m a bit sad about that.
Should California have a policy discouraging overrides of onramp “exit” instructions unless specific conditions are met? For example, only if a travel lane is lost to the onramp?
My thought is that Exit is common practice so it should stay. If a specific exit has numerous UR’s then a TIO might be in order. But Waze has been around long enough that common terms should not be removed for the exact reason you stated in your summary.
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The only ones I would think to change are when the Continue prompt would be appropriate.
I agree. I have heard ‘exit’ so often that when I hear a ‘stay’ for I think should be an ‘exit’ I feel like I need to fix it.
I endorse the proposal that TIOs not be used routinely to change “Exit Right” instructions to “Keep Right” instructions for uncontrolled roadways.
As the name conveys, TIOs are overrides" to default Waze turn instructions, for situations where road configurations warrants a deviation from the norm.
It may be helpful to discuss examples where it would be acceptable to use a TIO to change Exit to Keep. I did a quick scan and could not find many examples – so the problem does not (yet) appear to be widespread. I found one example where a major road ends at a T intersection with another major road. However at the T there is a parking lot road at an angle, with an override from Exit to Keep. That seems like a good call by a meticulous editor. I found another example that I’m reaching out to an editor for clarification.
As I have been going through all the missing SLs on MHs in the state, I have found a few old stubs that were placed at these points before TIO existed.
I remember when we first initiated the FC update that caused so many uncontrolled roadways to suddenly say Exit to get onto a freeway. I too remember feeling the fingernails on the chalkboard when I heard the instruction.
Now about 2 years later, I suppose I also ignore it now that I have gotten used to it. I can see the argument going both ways to make the ramps Exit or Keep, but I see two reasons not to make the change. 1. There are thousands of intersections that would need the TIO. I’m not sure we should be doing a hard change like that for the sake of an instruction. 2. I agree that exiting the current roadway and entering another on a ramp is different from a flat road that splits between two directions.
Having said that, I can imagine a need for a keep right if lanes of traffic actually split from the continue straight direction, so in that case I can see the need, but if that makes it more difficult to decide if we should use Keep vs Exit on an onramp, then I can accept that we just ignore it.
Just wanted to add this here for reference. Studying the national guidance to see where CA may want to deviate.
https://wazeopedia.waze.com/wiki/USA/Turn_Instruction_Overrides/USA
As far as I can see, that page does not cover the situation we are discussing here for ramps right between highways/freeways. Maybe we should go back to that original page discussion to bring it up to at least have a national standard and then decide if we are deviating from that (whatever it comes out to be).
I see there is a Jan thread on this discussion.
https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1636&t=215156
It proposed we do not make any deviation from the Waze standard.
For completeness: the conversation moved from this thread to the US thread referenced by kentsmith9 above, and concluded with an update to the US wiki. I’ll mark this thread as “solved”.