To the Waze Team,

Warm greetings from Atomik1035.

I am writing to you as both an avid user and a developer to propose a routing idea born from a personal experience.

The other day, while driving in an area I already knew well (Aprilia) after a tiring day, I blindly followed the navigation instructions. In an attempt to save a few minutes or a kilometer, the app directed me onto a secondary road that was nearly impassable and riddled with potholes. Since I have a new car, you can imagine my dismay!

This sparked an idea: why not introduce a navigation mode based on road surface type and quality, in addition to the standard options based on time and distance?

How it could work:

Navigation Settings Option: A user-selectable filter (e.g., "Avoid rough roads / Prioritize smooth roads" or "Prefer intact pavement").

Community Integration: Waze already boasts the incredible strength of real-time reporting (potholes, surface hazards). By cross-referencing this data with community votes and confirmations, a "wear/quality score" could be assigned to road segments.
Smart Routing: The route calculation algorithm would avoid segments with a high density of "deep pothole" or "rough road" reports, suggesting a smoother, safer route—even if it adds 2–3 minutes to the journey.

I believe this feature would significantly boost driver satisfaction, protect vehicles from unnecessary damage, and add even greater structural value to the reports the community submits every day.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards to the entire Waze Team,

Atomik1035, Italy.