Vehicle profiles, size and weight restrictions, and community-based reporting for motorhomes and large vehicles
INTRODUCTION
I regularly use Waze when travelling with my motorhome (camper/RV), but the current navigation system does not adequately account for the vehicle's physical dimensions and weight.
A route that is perfectly suitable for a normal car may be unsuitable or even impassable for a motorhome. For example, a 3.5-tonne motorhome may encounter weight-restricted roads, low bridges, narrow passages or other obstacles that prevent safe passage.
I would like to suggest extending Waze's existing vehicle settings to support motorhomes, trucks, vans, buses and other vehicles with specific routing requirements.
The proposal consists of three integrated features.
- CONFIGURABLE VEHICLE PROFILES
Alongside the existing Private and Taxi vehicle types, Waze could introduce an additional category for vehicles with specific size and weight requirements.
When selecting this category, users would be prompted to configure their vehicle with the following parameters:
- Vehicle type: motorhome/RV, truck, van, bus, vehicle with trailer, etc.
- Height.
- Width.
- Length.
- Maximum authorised mass (MAM).
For motorhomes, the maximum authorised mass is particularly useful because it is a fixed value stated in the vehicle's registration documents. Drivers do not normally weigh their motorhomes before every journey, so requiring the actual weight would make the feature less practical.
Additional optional parameters, such as actual weight, axle loads or trailer configuration, could be available where relevant, particularly for commercial vehicles.
The vehicle category should also be considered, since different legal restrictions may apply to motorhomes and trucks even when their dimensions and weight are similar.
Users could save multiple vehicle profiles and select the appropriate one before starting a journey.
This approach would preserve Waze's simple interface for ordinary car drivers while providing more advanced options for those who need them.
- ROUTING BASED ON VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS
Waze could use the selected vehicle profile to calculate routes that take into account known road restrictions, including:
- Maximum permitted height, such as low bridges and tunnels.
- Maximum permitted width and narrow passages.
- Weight restrictions and restrictions on certain bridges.
- Restrictions applicable to specific vehicle categories.
- Temporary restrictions caused by roadworks or other circumstances.
For example, if a bridge has a known clearance of 2.80 metres and the selected motorhome is 3.10 metres high, Waze should exclude that road from the calculated route.
The system should also distinguish between restrictions based on maximum authorised mass, actual weight and vehicle category, applying the appropriate rules where the relevant information is available.
When a restriction is known to make a road unsuitable, Waze should avoid it and explain the reason if necessary.
When restriction data is missing or uncertain, Waze should clearly distinguish unknown conditions from confirmed safe passage. It should never imply that a route is guaranteed to be suitable simply because no restriction has been recorded.
- COMMUNITY-DRIVEN REPORTING OF ROAD RESTRICTIONS
An essential part of this proposal is the ability for drivers to report missing or incorrect road restrictions directly through Waze.
While travelling, a motorhome or truck driver may encounter a low bridge, a narrow passage, a weight restriction or a road closure that is not yet recorded in the map.
Waze could introduce a dedicated reporting option for these situations.
The initial report should be quick and simple, ideally supporting voice commands or minimal interaction while driving.
Waze could automatically record the GPS location, road and time of the report.
Once safely parked, the driver could add further details, such as:
- Type of restriction.
- Height, width or weight limit shown on road signs.
- Photographs of signs or obstacles.
- Whether the restriction appears permanent or temporary.
- Additional information about the affected road or direction of travel.
Reports should be associated with the correct road segment and, where applicable, the affected direction of travel.
This is particularly important for bridges, where the road passing underneath may have a height restriction while the road crossing above does not.
- VERIFICATION AND MAP UPDATES
Submitted reports should be reviewed and validated by Waze map editors before permanent restrictions are incorporated into the map and used for routing.
Permanent restrictions could then become part of the map's standard routing data.
Temporary restrictions, such as those caused by roadworks, could have an expiration date or require confirmation before they are removed.
While reports are awaiting verification, Waze could display appropriate warnings to affected vehicle categories, clearly identifying the information as unverified rather than automatically treating it as a confirmed restriction.
This would allow the community to progressively improve the map without requiring all restrictions to be known in advance.
- BENEFITS FOR THE WIDER WAZE COMMUNITY
Although this suggestion comes from my experience as a motorhome driver, the same functionality would also be useful for truck drivers, van drivers, bus drivers and users towing caravans or other trailers.
The goal is not simply to introduce a separate navigation mode for motorhomes, but to extend Waze's existing community-based navigation system to support vehicles with different physical characteristics and legal restrictions.
By combining configurable vehicle profiles, restriction-aware routing and community-verified map updates, Waze could provide more useful navigation to a much wider range of drivers.
Thank you for considering this suggestion.
RELATED SUGGESTIONS
I understand that similar requests for vehicle dimensions and motorhome routing have already been submitted. This proposal aims to build upon those ideas by combining vehicle profiles with community-based reporting, editorial verification and both permanent and temporary road restrictions.
Vehicle options:
https://waze.uservoice.com/forums/59223-waze-suggestion-box/suggestions/48495416-vehicle-options
Support for dimensions and combinations such as caravans:
https://waze.uservoice.com/forums/59223-waze-suggestion-box/suggestions/49877559-support-for-dimensions-and-combinations-such-as-ca