Maybe Waze should also detect if power is turned off (eg from the car power fed to the phone), and if that happens a stop should not be used to indicate heavy traffic. Of course, this needs to be configurable, as it will depend on whether power is on even if the ignition is off or whether the power is tied to the ignition etc.
Also, if waze is turned off, it possibly should send a message to ignore/reverse any traffic updates that were made based on this user stopping at the current location

now that is an even worst idea Dnote!
not all traffic jams make you be still for 10 mins (ever check the difference between a standstill, a heavy or a medium jam?)
also, not everywhere there're 2 users in the same segment, specially for roads that are heavily segmented...

it's better to have the option and not use it rather than not have it at all...
I know that if I'm stopping at a gas station and have waze open, it'd be perfectly easy for me to hit a "pause navigation" button...

Bad idea, since most people will probably forget to do this in many situations. Better not automatically post. Another possibility is to only report traffic jam if not moved for 10 mins (even 5 meters is movement). Another idea is to only report traffic jam if more than one user is standing still on the same road segment.

How about if it asks if you are in traffic and you don't answer the system defaults to no. Then if we are we can confirm by saying yes. This would be much more accurate I think

Please consider PAUSE feature integration with charger connect/disconnect, and Bluetooth connect/disconnect events:
http://waze.uservoice.com/forums/59223-client-how-can-we-improve-waze-on-your-phone-/suggestions/1800099-automatically-start-stop-reporting-on-bluetooth-co?ref=title

My automation ideas:
1. Never report traffic from last destination segment.
2. Never report traffic from departure segment (while the speed will not reach some threshold, i.e. 30 kmh).
3. Automatically learn where I and other Wazers are mostly using the PAUSE button. Ask to confirm traffic on these segments.

another post for this already added....

Pause button

Maybe the client could use the battery charging state for pause indication. In my case I only use waze if my phone is connected to the charging cable and the power for carging is only on if the engine is running. So if I stop in the filling station an d turn of the engine the phone goes to battery mode. The client could use this event for goint to "pause mode". This should be configurable, for example by a flag "go to pause if on battery"

I've seen the "are you in traffic" popup, but am pretty sure that it's not frequent I've seen it and if I reply "no", I think it still records the current stopping time as traffic.

I just want a way to stop navigation when stopped at a gas station, waiting for a friend while standing on the car or whatever other reason where I might be not moving but not stuck in traffic!

Remember there are lots of situations other than being stopped when pause would be handy...for example, driving though large parking lots in shopping centers or maybe a 4-wheeler taking an off-road shortcut.

If I check in with 4sq, that means I am paused. When motion is detected again, I am not. You probably need to send a kill flag to the server and just toss the data for that segment so it won't mess up the statistics. People that don't used 4sq can just pretend!!!

Not uploaded on 2.2 ? I've seen something like what som1else suggested (with the additiona of a notification sound) couple of days ago... Do you plan to improve this feature ?

Some manufacturers (Ford) have always-on power outlets. Another option is to detect when the car's bluetooth connection has unpaired (for those of us with in-car BT).

I suggest removing your votes from this request and add them to one of the other 'pause' requests which already has more votes.

Suggestion: make use of the phone's keyboard/screen lock - if the user has locked his phone, then assume they've put it in their pocket and got out of the car...

I would think that any time you are stopped for longer than 2 minutes, Waze should have a pop up that asks if you are in stuck in traffic so it will know if a traffic report is warranted. If no response, then it shouldn't post (If you are stuck in traffic, you are likely to see, or hear, the pop-up, whereas if you are inside the convenient store paying for you gas and your phone is in the car, you won't see it )

I would definitely like to remove the automated report unless it pops up with an approval first. My suggestion would be to present a pop-up asking if you want to report a stand-still. This should be visible for 10 seconds and if you dont click yes it will be deleted / not sent.

As deeggo stated, automation is key. Anything that will make waze require less babysitting will add greatly to it's usability. Detecting if your car is on or off (based on a charger/dock charging the phone only when the car is on) would help in that department. Now that the pause option is getting more traction you might also want to vote on this: http://waze.uservoice.com/forums/59223-client-how-can-we-improve-waze-on-your-phone-/suggestions/998821-detect-car-on-off-state?ref=title

Whether this be solved with user interaction or not, something clever should be implemented to prevent the faulty reports. Besides, Waze often thinks I am on the main road instead of at the gas station, where I actually am, when a route is active. ATM, Waze is too persistent in thinking I took the road it told me to take, whereas I stopped for gas or took a detour.