When I was travelling the US for a few months I drove the old Mojave road. at the end you pas by some lava tubes[1]. about 30min before that place there was a stranded Ford Mustang with a couple in it. They got stuck in the sand, had no water, no food and no means to get out. The were on their way to Las Vegas and wanted to see the tubes. they just followed Google maps.
Another time in I encountered another tourist in the middle of nowhere in Nevada, totally lost. Again, blindely followed Google Maps.
In Death Valley I crossed tourists in a rented SUV who wanted to cross over the Lippincott Pass to get to the Racetrack Playa, again following Google Maps. I talked them into turning around, there was no way they were going to make it. Also, they were not prepared at all (no water, food, etc.)
In Ecuador, Google Maps lead me down a mountain road which turned into a mountain bike track. I made it out in one piece, it made for a good story[2] but it is pretty damn dangerous.
If you are in a remote area, always double check google maps suggested, eg. with an OSM based map.
We actually saved a man whose car was stuck in the sand in the Mojave desert in ~2014.
We were cruising through the desert in mid-August, well stocked up with water as everyone told you to always pack twice as much as you think you'll need, and mildly pissed-off by the gas price of the only gas station we've seen that day. We barely met another car on the whole journey through. It was late afternoon, we were about 30 minutes away from getting out of the desert and we saw a man waving at us at the edge of the road. We pull up and we see he is desperate, his car got stuck in the sand a few meters away. Together we managed to dig a bit under his wheels, gathered some flat stones and shoved them under the wheels to improve traction. After a couple of tries he was able to get the car out of the sand and back on the road.
Another time in I encountered another tourist in the middle of nowhere in Nevada, totally lost. Again, blindely followed Google Maps.
In Death Valley I crossed tourists in a rented SUV who wanted to cross over the Lippincott Pass to get to the Racetrack Playa, again following Google Maps. I talked them into turning around, there was no way they were going to make it. Also, they were not prepared at all (no water, food, etc.)
In Ecuador, Google Maps lead me down a mountain road which turned into a mountain bike track. I made it out in one piece, it made for a good story[2] but it is pretty damn dangerous.
If you are in a remote area, always double check google maps suggested, eg. with an OSM based map.
[1] https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mojave-lava-tube
[2] https://www.bueti-online.ch/talks/overlanding-and-sre/