Map Problems

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This information here is what is known at this time. Subject to change.

This article covers the automated map Problem reports and appear in the Waze Map Editor as a colored balloon without a smiley face. Balloons with a smiley face are Waze user reported Update Requests and are covered under Update requests.

Overview

A Map Problem or Automated Problem Report comes from the Waze system when it detects something that is happening in the real world as tracked by the Waze client apps that does not match the logic in the map data. There are three options the editor can use to respond to these Map Problems: Solved, Not Identified, or leave it as Open. Note that when you mark an Automated Problem Report as Not Identified, it generally will flag the problem to be investigated by a non-local editors who is not likely to be familiar with local mapping guidelines and may cause more harm than good. Therefore it is better to either mark it Solved or leave it Open for another editor to resolve.

Interface Elements

The color of the problem balloon, just like Update Requests, are indicative of something. In the case of Problems, it is the number of drivers affected by, or driving through the problem area, in an unexpected manner. The more drive traces which follow the same route, the higher the likelihood that this problem needs to be fixed. An exclamation point in the icon shows that the problem is open and the color indicates how many drivers have gone through that area with that problem.

A yellow problem balloon has been generated by 1-3 drives.

An orange problem balloon has been generated by 4-7 drives.

A red problem balloon has been generated by 8 or more drives.

The Problem changes to this icon when you mark it as "Not Identified." It is not advised to mark many Problems as Not Identified because this flags the problem to be investigated by other non-local Editors who are not always familiar with local mapping guidelines and may cause more harm than good.

This is a Solved Problem and appears once you fix a problem and mark it as "Solved". If you see that the problem isn't valid, such as being generated by bad GPS tracks/reception, or is due to bad averaging of GPS track data, mark it Solved as well.

When you click on an Problem balloon, the top portion of the map display area is taken over by the information for the problem.

The top bar of the Problem states that this is an "automatically detected" Problem.

Enabling map problem reports

To display the problem reports on the WME screen, use the layer control to turn on the Map Problem layer.

System detected problem types

The list below may not be all inclusive of all possible problem types. If you find a problem type not entered below, come to the Wiki Changes forum to report the missing problem report so it can be added. As stated earlier, it is generally not advised to mark any of these automated problem reports as Not Identified.

• Missing road - The roads are too far apart from each other and most likely a road is missing in between. In many cases the missing roads are identified in Parking Lots and in areas with obstructions to the GPS satellites or cellular towers. For parking lot issues, review the guidelines regarding the mapping of Parking Lots before continuing. Be advised that a high percentage of this map error type appears to be bogus or requires no action be taken at all. Mark it as Solved if there is no obvious issue.
• Restricted turn might be allowed - The route goes through a turn which is marked as not allowed. Select the segments around the junction indicated to find if the direction of the turn is limited by a turn restriction. These are usually very accurate in finding incorrect turn restrictions. However, note that in some cases, it may be indicated for a time restricted turn or possibly an illegal turn that the driver made anyway. For both cases either fix it or just mark is Solved.
• Driving direction mismatch - Drivers are driving against the defined one-way direction of the street. If this is a 2-way segment, change it. Be sure to research whether this is really a 2-way street (or 1-way going the other direction) first, as Wazers walking or biking could be causing the map problem to appear. Once fixed mark it Solved.
• Missing junction - The roads are close to each other, however, they are not connected by a junction. If the visual map shows them connected then fix it and mark it Solved. This problem can also happen if two roads are close to each other and due to GPS inaccuracy, Waze snaps the driver to one road and then to the other when it "figures out" they really weren't on the other road. In those cases, this problem is bogus. Mark it as Solved.
• Cross roads junction missing - The roads intersect each other, however, there is no junction in the intersection point. This happens most often when a map editor draws a new road crossing an existing one, but forgets to create a junction between the two. Fix it and mark it Solved.
• Suggested route frequently ignored - Waze has calculated that most users did not follow the suggested route. The number in the green circle shows how many drives were taken along that route. Look for missing connections or incorrect turn restrictions which may cause Waze to not choose that driving direction. There are many reports that show the purple suggested route head into dead ends. If there are no missing connections or incorrect turn restrictions, then either leave it open for another editor to review, or mark it Solved.
• Road type mismatch - The route goes through some unnavigable roads such as rails or private roads. Verify that the road type is actually correct. Under no circumstances should there be a junction between non-drivable segment types like walking trails, runway/taxiway, etc. and other standard drivable segments. If the road type is correct, disconnect it. If the road type is not correct, fix it. Mark the problems Solved.

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