ituajr I quite like your suggested wiki entry if it comes to that.
I still can't bring myself to be concerned about possible legal ramifications though. Whilst I appreciate the effort you are going to to provide examples to illustrate your point we haven't been able to find an actual case where conscious online map editing decisions or errors of omission have led to an accident let alone repercussions for the map provider. My memory of newspaper reports is that the driver is at fault if they do something dumb like
drive onto a runway or
into a lake. In the Apple case they said sorry we are working on it and there was no legal backlash other than the police saying it was "life threatening".
There is no doubt that ones action or inaction can lead to fatal consequences in some circumstances. I can only assume though, given the lack of diversity in contributors to this thread, that others don't have a view on this matter. It would be handy to have people say something to get a feel for where people stand even without any justification.
I also agree with GG that it would be handy to just have a decision made by Waze HQ but as I said that is unlikely to happen. There is no governance of the Waze map just a bunch of people who decide they will donate their time to look after it as best they can. Why Waze HQ treats those people with contempt is beyond me.
I still think that the problems outweigh any benefits. The problems are essentially routing issues. Here are some I can think of:
- When roads are blocked (accident) or cutoff (flooding) to change the map will result in those routes becoming unavailable (unless you drive into an area where the only option is to pass one of the private road segments).
- No other major map provider is avoiding these streets
- A "local" who wants to drive across their suburb to the shops will be routed the long way.
- Looking at Kangaroo Pt. A driver might be going to rock climb and park on River Tce. They aren't therefore using the street to rat run to home they are going to park at the end of the "local only street" (on River Tce) so why would Waze route them all the way down Main St in the traffic just to turn around at the north end and drive back down? Additionally there is metered parking in these streets so would that not suggest that it is OK to drive down the street if you are going to park there (And no I don't mean it was the destination you might be driving to River Tce and will take the first park you can find)? (Disclaimer I am a rock climber)
So I wont lose sleep if we decide to "gate" off these streets but I think it will result in poor routing for many people in and around these areas that isn't the intention of the sign.