This is my first post. I hope this is the right place to make this comment. I feel like it’s something that should go directly to Waze.
Here’s the issue:
Travel between Gilroy and Fresno.
The standard route is Highway 152 Pacheco Pass, through Los Banos to Highway 99, then south to Fresno.
There is an alternate route: Highway 152 Pacheco Pass, south on I-5, Nees exit and long drive through farm roads to Highway 99.
The alternate route really only makes sense in one situation: daytime, good weather, heavy traffic in Los Banos.
Yet, Waze will sometimes choose this route after hours and at night. If you ignore it as you approach I-5, the update shows the same distance and same arrival time or even shortens it. The standard Los Banos route is simply safer too.
Standard route: 4 lanes along highway 152 through Los Banos and the road is divided by about 40 feet. The road quality is very good and there is even quite a bit of light from houses and intersections.
Alternate route: 2 lanes (1 each way) divided only by a yellow line. The road quality is poor in many sections. There are periodic stop signs.
I wonder if Waze has this level of detail to consider the road size (not going to know if it’s rough unless we can input it) and whether it is divided. The route should favor safety for times that are a few minutes apart.
This should go in the California forum for best response. A forum mod will probably move it there shortly.
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Thanks for bringing your concern to the forum. Unfortunately, Waze staff do not frequent these forums. Therefore, I will l give you my assessment based on many years of Waze editing. The Waze app has always been about getting to your destination the fastest, an objective measurement. Unfortunately, other indicators like safety and efficiency are very subjective. Therefore, it is difficult to have computers use these subjective indicators when selecting a route.
Waze has significant data about roadways, including: average speeds, general highway classification, and now speed limit information. Waze generally does not know if a highway is divided, the pavement conditions, or lighting. The Waze antilogarithm uses the available data to select the fastest route to your destination.
In looking at the routes from Gilroy to Fresno, the SR-152 route is generally 3 minutes faster than the Nees/Avenue 7 route. I also note that the two routes are classified similar (Major Highway). Therefore, depending on live conditions, Waze would usually recommend the SR-152 route, but sometimes might recommend the ‘alt route’. When you request a route, you can select the “Routes” option to see alternative routes and see what the time difference is estimated at. I hope this information was helpful.
