Editing restrictions View history

This page is currently part of a larger effort to update the restrictions information across the wiki. Contact Kent Smith for more information

There are three restrictions that affect an editor's ability to change the map:

Driven / editable area - based on map editors' experience
Traffic lock - applied to segments based on historical traffic data
Manual lock - applied to segments by map editors

Any of the three restrictions can restrict an editor from modifying an object on the map.

Locks help ensure that important roads are not accidentally (or intentionally) modified and disrupt traffic flow for all the client app users in that area.

Restriction types

Editable area (driving area, management area)

In real edit mode (logged in), you can make changes within your editable area. Your editable area consists of:

The roads you have driven recently (see note below).
Areas within a certain distance of those roads. How far this distance extends depends on your editing rank.
Areas in which you are the Area Manager. You can edit your assigned area, even if you have not driven a road nearby recently.

You can highlight your editable area on the map by turning on the layer for editable area.

An object is editable if any portion of it is inside one of your editable areas, subject to any further restrictions covered in the editing restrictions page.

Recent drives
Waze records your drives when it is operating with or without navigating to a destination while your device has constant GPS and GSM/3G/4G network connectivity. You can see a history of those drives in the editor. Make sure you have nothing selected, and click the Drives tab in the side panel.

Short drives are usually added to the drives list almost immediately. Longer drives may take a day or two to appear.

After a certain period of time, these drives expire. They may still show in your drives list, but Waze will no longer display the drive details, unless there is a more recent drive. This timing may not coincide directly with the expiration of your editable area, noted below.

You can tell the difference between recent drives and expired drives in the Drives panel. Recent drives are a clickable link which will show the path of the drive. Expired drives show the summary (date, elapsed time, length), but you can't click them.

Expiration
Editable area gained by a drive expires 90 days after the date of the drive or on the last day of the third month after the drive, whichever is later. An area manager appointment could also be revoked after 90 days of inactivity.

Segment lock

Segment locks apply to both manual and automatic locks. This system ensures more important roads and highways are not accidentally altered by less experienced editors (until they get more experience).

A lock restricts:

Segment editing ability (name changes, node changes, adding junctions, etc.)
Automatic adjustments (changes made by the server when it identifies problems in the map)

Lock rank

There are seven locking ranks for segments (1 through 6 and Staff). The locking ranks correspond to the editor's rank measured by their editing rank on their statistics window.

An unlocked segment has a lock rank of 1 and can be edited by any editor rank. Segments can be locked by editors at any rank up to and including their own rank. Editing a segment requires the lock rank of that segment be equal to or less than the rank of the editor. A Staff locked segment cannot be modified by any editor and requires a special unlock request process discussed below.

In addition to the lock rank, the segment must also be fully included in one of your editable areas discussed above.

Manual lock

All Rank 2 and above editors have the ability to manually lock a segment. This type of lock is manually applied by a higher-ranked editor to a particular segment of road that needs to be protected from accidental change or vandalism. The more important the road, the more likely it is to be locked.

In the past, many segments were locked for other reasons that no longer exist, but the segments do not get unlocked unless they are edited again and the editor adjusts down the lock rank.

Automatic lock

There are three different automated locks that may affect a segment.

Traffic lock

At this time, traffic locks are disabled in the USA because the leadership team has requested a feature be added to traffic locks that enables AMs to edit segments with a traffic lock set above their rank (but not manual locks above their rank).

A traffic lock is an automatically-applied editing lock for a road segment. A lock is applied by the Waze servers to any road segments having a high volume of traffic traversing it. The lock rank is the same as with manual locks.

Roads with low volumes of traffic have a rank 1 lock, which is really no lock at all, because the lowest editor rank is also 1. Roads with somewhat more traffic are locked at rank 2.

The busiest roads -- generally, the top 10% traveled roads in an area -- are locked at rank 5, so that only rank 5 or 6 editors can edit them.

Generally, rank 3 or 4 should be able to edit about 90% of the roads in their areas, unless manually locked by a senior editor (see below).

Editors with rank 5 or 6 can edit 100% of the roads in their editable area.

Road closure lock

When a road is closed through WME, it cannot be edited by any rank until the closure is removed (temporarily or because it expired).

Junction box lock

A junction box currently prevents any modifications to the segments linked to the junction box regardless of the editor's rank. The junction box would need to be removed before the segments could be edited. This is a limitation that may be adjusted in the future.

Locking of other objects

Violation camera editing ability

When an editor approves a violation camera (speed or red light), the camera is locked at that editor's rank. An editor with a lower rank may not change / delete the camera, unless he or she is the owner of the camera or an Area Manager for its location.

Combination of multiple restrictions

The first two are both locking systems that apply to specific segments for the 6 editor ranks. The third is based primarily on geography (areas surrounding the editor's recorded drives are open to the editor if there is no manual or traffic lock, other areas are restricted for the editor, even if there is no traffic lock and no manual lock).

For the two locking systems, the effect is combined by choosing the more restrictive of the two locks present on a segment.

Here is the combined effect of the three restrictions:

Editor may edit only in his editable area. Even if a road is otherwise not locked at all, an editor can't edit the area unless Waze knows the driver was in the area within the last 90 days days or is an Area Manager there.
A traffic lock further restricts a segment. A segment is always "locked" at least to the traffic lock rank, meaning that an editor below the traffic lock rank can't edit that segment of road, even within their editable area.
The manual locking system (static lock) is independent from the traffic lock (dynamic lock). If an editor has locked a segment to a rank, Waze uses the higher of the two locks. Editors cannot lock the road higher than their own rank -- they can't lock themselves out of a segment. It is possible to lock a segment to be less restrictive (a rank 4 user can lock to rank 3, so that only rank 1 and rank 2 are restricted from editing).
There is no way to manually unlock a traffic lock. If it is locked at rank 4, then even a senior editor may not grant editing rights to editors who are rank 1, 2, or 3.
It is possible for a higher-ranked editor to remove a manual lock, or to reduce its rank. However, that is only effective when the automatic traffic lock is at or below the newly-lowered manual rank, or if the traffic lock is later reduced due to reduced traffic volume.

Illustration

In a new development, the city is laying out new streets. A driver "paves" a new road, Lockrank Street. Initially, there is very little traffic, so there is no traffic lock. It has never been manually locked. So, by default the traffic lock is 1, and by default the manual lock is 1. The combined lock is 1, so anyone can edit it,
Lockrank Street gets vandalized a number of times by brand new users (rank 1), so the Area Manager applies a rank 2 lock to it. There is still no traffic lock (i.e., traffic lock is 1). It is now effectively locked to the manual lock, rank 2. New editors (rank 1) can't edit it, and can't edit the junctions at either end of it. Editors ranked 2-6 can edit it and its junctions.
A new editor notices that the road name has changed to Newlock Road. She tries to edit it, but discovers that is is locked at rank 2, while she is rank 1. She goes to the unlock request forum, and requests the change. The Area Manager reduces the manual lock rank to 1. Since there is still no traffic lock, the lock is effectively removed. The new editor makes the change. The Area Manager changes the manual lock back to rank 2 to continue protecting from vandalism.
A new cross street, Junction Lane, is added to the street grid, and another driver paves it. He is a rank 2 editor. He goes into the editor to name it and connect it to Newlock Road. He is able to, because he is a rank 2 editor.
Drivers find Newlock Road is a good way to get across the city, so it starts receiving a lot of traffic.

Waze applies a traffic lock of 3. Even though the manual lock is 2, the traffic lock is higher in this case, and the road is effectively locked to the traffic lock. It can now be edited only by rank 3 editors and above.

Another cross street, Development Way, is added to the grid. The rank 2 editor goes to add it, and finds he is unable to create the junction onto Newlock Road. He goes to the unlock forum to ask for the lock to be lowered to 2, so he can fix the map. The Area Manager tells him that the lock can't be lowered, because the traffic lock overrides it. The Area Manager makes the change on behalf of the editor.
Myles Opia is a rank 1 editor. He misreads some sign information, and changes the name of Development Way to Developer Way. It gets flipped back and forth a number of times. However, traffic has been building on it, and it gets a traffic lock of rank 2. Stopping Myles Opia form further incorrect changes.
Myles Opia has edited enough roads to attain rank 2. He starts changing it again. The Area Manager locks it to rank 3. Since this is higher than the traffic lock of 2, it overrides the traffic lock, and the road can't be edited by rank 1 or 2 editors.

Effects of locking

Locks create editing restrictions as described below.

Segment editing ability

When a segment is locked above an editor's rank, either by a traffic lock or a manual lock, the editor cannot perform any of the following:

Change the properties of the segment (including name, country, state/province, city, road type, elevation, etc.)
Change the geometry of the segment.
Edit House Numbers on the segment.
Change the turns (including U-turns and partial turn restrictions) visible when the segment is selected.
Change restrictions on the segment.
Set a closure on the segment (unless that segment is within an editor's RTC area).
Disconnect a road from the junction node at either end of the segment.
Create a new junction anywhere on the segment.

The editor can request an unlock in order to make necessary edits on locked segments.

Even when a segment is locked, the editor can still perform the following:

Attach a segment to the junction node at either end of the locked segment.
Change the turn restrictions from other segments into the locked segment.
Delete an unlocked road from a junction with the locked segment (but remember deleting road segments deletes the traffic data for that segment, and so should generally not be done).

Unlocking an object above your rank

This section explains how to deal with various lock types when you need to apply a change to a segment (or connected junction) or other object locked above your rank.

Requesting changes

There are three methods to unlock manual segments and their junctions, or to request an edit change for any type of restriction.

Check the Community section of your state or territory Wazopedia page for the best way to request unlocks in your area.
Post a forum message in the Unlock Request forum.
Make your request in the WME Chat room.

You need to provide specific information to facilitate your change request. Your private message or forum post should contain the following:

Subject: the road lock rank and location. Example: rank 4: Anytown, NY - SR-123
Additional details to include in the body of the message:

Your own "traffic cone rank" -- this gives the unlocking editor some insight into your experience level, and to know the rank reduction needed in case of a manual lock override. Example: I am rank 2.

A permalink. Make sure the segments that need to be unlocked are all selected when the link is followed, and the area zoomed out just enough to see the selected roads and any features of the area necessary to understand the need for the edit you wish made. See the permalink page for more information about how permalinks work, and how to create and use them. Example: The locked segments can be found at http://www.waze.com/editor/?zoom=6&lat=40.73925&lon=-74.07625&env=usa&layers=965&segments=77835875,77469408,77835812

A description of the change you wish to be made. Example: I would like to change mapped road geometry to match physical changes to the road

An explanation of the reason for the change. Example: The road has recently been relocated and straightened and causes Waze to think you drove off the road. You can see the problem by turning on GPS tracks in the editor screen. I drive it often enough that I am able to make the change even though the imagery is out of date.

We ask for all this information so that:

The correct editor (one with the appropriate seniority and with responsibility for the correct geographic area) can respond. Putting the road's existing rank and location in the subject allows responding editors to find the requests appropriate for them.
The responding editor can evaluate the request correctly.
The responding editor can figure out the correct action to take (change lock rank so you can make the edit, apply the edit himself directly, ask for more information, ask for more evidence, do more research, or deny the request).

Note that many segments were locked for reasons that are no longer applicable. However, high traffic areas are locked to prevent less experienced editors from making changes that would cause problems or do not follow the generally agreed mapping procedures. The same applies for "tricky situations," where the road configuration is set up somewhat unusually, in order to meet a specific requirement or solve a specific problem. The lock is to help prevent a less knowledgeable editor from changing it to be more "logical" or "more standard," but thereby actually breaking the map.

Also note that if a traffic lock is active, and above your rank, the segment can't be unlocked, and you can't make the edit yourself. That is because Waze does not support overriding traffic locks. However, your request is the same. The responding editor will make the change for you. If that editor needs your assistance to completing the change, he or she will let you know, and if necessary will work out a plan for collaborating on the edit with you.

Staff locks

A special type of manual lock is the Waze Staff Lock. There have been times when a Waze staff member has locked a segment. In many cases, the lock is no longer required. So if you have a reason to edit it, please review this support link to request it to be unlocked. This link is only for staff rank locks.

Automatic adjustments

Much of the road network may from a "base map import" that Waze set up to initially populate each new country's road map. The data on the base map is not always certain, so Waze initially set "soft restrictions" on turns and unknown road diretcionality for many segments. As Waze learns actual traffic patterns on these segments, it may "change its mind" about the restrictions and directionality.

When a user edits the map and alters a previously untouched segment by changing the segment's nodes, turn restrictions, names, etc., the Waze servers will no longer allow itself to automatically alter that segment in the future. Before a user alters a segment, the Waze server could alter road directionality, shape, and turn restrictions based on tracking real-world driving, via GPS inputs.

In the past, the Waze server was known to have changed even segments that had been edited. This lead to many users locking down roads to prevent the Waze server from adjusting the segment. Since the Waze server can no longer alter edited segments, locking roads for this reason is no longer necessary.

If an editor finds a road locked for seemingly no reason, use the procedure described above for changing locked map segments, to request a permanent release of the lock.

Area Managers

In short: An Area Manager (AM) does not have restrictions based on areas recently driven. Manual locks still apply, and Traffic locks (once implemented) may or may not apply.

Most users can edit only the segments they have driven and the surrounding areas (see above, Editable areas). This restriction does not apply to an AM, within his or her assigned management area(s). Within these areas, an AM may edit any object locked up to their rank or lower.

However, locks still apply to AMs. An AM cannot edit anything locked to a higher rank than his own.

When an AM encounters a road locked above his rank, he should follow the same procedure as shown above for unlocking segments. In addition, if the regional manager or country manager allows it, he may request action directly from the regional/country manager using whatever channels the they have established for communication.

Note that regional managers and country managers likewise do not have geographic (drive-based) restrictions within their areas.

Applicability of traffic locks

Traffic locks are implemented only in some countries at this time.