No gaming the traffic system by trying to fool apps

When our freeways back up, which is pretty much every day, neighborhood streets get just as nasty because people use them as detours.

Upset neighbors around the country are trying to keep their streets open by fooling some of the apps, like Waze, that track traffic.

I’m reminded of an accident a few weeks back that turned I-5 into Seattle into a nightmare. Drivers flocked to Roosevelt and other streets throughout the U-District to avoid them.

What if people living in those areas logged onto Waze and started putting phony traffic problems on those streets? Would it be enough to keep those detour-seekers from using them?

People in Los Angeles are trying to fool Waze this way, but the app’s Julie Mossler told me it doesn’t work.

“There are a lot of checks and balances that prevent someone from gaming the system,” she said. “Let’s say you report a car accident. There will be a thumbs up or thumbs down button that allows other drivers who pass that report to confirm if it’s still there.”

And the GPS function that is turned on when you log into Waze will be able to report speeds in real time too, which can’t be faked.

“Other drivers who might not be aware are contributing against these reports,” Mossler said. “If you just drive down the street and you’re going 30 miles an hour, obviously there is no accident blocking that road.”

Mossler said it would take a huge collaborative effort from a large group of people to even make a blip on the radar.

So there is no way to game the system. There is no way to keep drivers from finding your neighborhood street and turning it into a shortcut.