Waze promises updates on Obama-related traffic jams

The top-level discussions between Israeli leaders and President Barack Obama, set for Wednesday, will no doubt have an important impact on Israelis — eventually. But one thing that will have an immediate impact will be the monstrous traffic jams the Obama visit could bring in its wake — especially in Jerusalem, where the president will spend most of his time.

Social driving app Waze — which lets drivers know where there are tie-ups, and suggests alternative routes designed to get them to their destinations in the quickest time possible — plans to be ready for the road closures and delays, unlike the last time there was a major road closure in Israel, when the app sent tens of thousands of drivers to a highway that was “rained out” of service.

If Waze isn’t up to snuff, not only will many drivers get angry; the app will get in trouble with the Israel Police, who “guarantee” that Waze will give drivers an accurate picture of the traffic.

Waze operates on the crowdsourcing principle: It gets its reports from data automatically supplied by users. The app uses a smartphone GPS chip to determine location, and checks every few seconds to see how much progress a user has made. It then uses that information to determine whether or not there is traffic, and how bad it is, and then alerts others, offering alternatives where feasible.

Not only is crowdsourcing Waze’s strength, but it is also its weakness, as was seen in an untoward incident in January. Due to heavy rains and flooding, the Ayalon Expressway, a main artery in Tel Aviv, was shut down. Waze didn’t know that, though, and because it got no reports of delays on the road, it assumed that it was clear for traffic.

It appears that Waze is really serious this time. On Tuesday afternoon, Road No. 1, the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, was closed for a time to allow top American officials led by Secretary of State John Kerry who arrived in advance of Obama to speed through to the capital without interference of any kind.

Right on time, Waze sent out a message to drivers whose routes included that highway: “Beginning at 4:30 p.m., parts of Road 1 will be closed for up to 10 minutes. Waze will automatically update its routing service, taking into account expected traffic.”

That was the first of presumably many such messages during the rest of the week, until Obama leaves Israel on Friday afternoon.

And Waze had better perform properly, if it knows what’s good for it: An official directions document issued by the Israel Police, which describes the road closures, says that “the Obama visit is likely to cause delays and heavy traffic on main roads that will be opened and closed at various times. Drivers will be able to receive real time updates on traffic with the Waze application.”

Confirming that it has a “deal” with police, Waze said that “we are working directly with the Israel Police and the Prime Minister’s Office in order to correctly update closed roads and automatically update drivers on traffic problems.” With a promise like that — and the “threat” of police censure if the app doesn’t perform properly — it is hoped that, this time, Israeli drivers will be able to rely on Waze.