[Berlin_Freeper]

"It was a dark and rainy night ...

You knew something bad was going to happen.

[sasquatch]

Sad but stupid should hurt.

[billorites]

The wife’s car has been bugging her to update the GPS database for a while now.

[Flag_This]

Recalculating.

[cherry]

gps and all that crap is fine and dandy but there is a time and place for old fashioned road maps...a road map can give you an instant big picture of where you are, where you are going, and what is between you and them....

I never rely on some little screen to tell me location....

[plain talk]

When I read the headline my first thought was - what a dumnass. But once I read the article and saw that it occurred at night I felt sad for him. In unknown territory at night this could happen to any of us.

Having said all that I sparingly use GPS. I usually mentally frame it out in my mind in google maps before I start out on a trip. My wife will use her phone and tell me where to go.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Overdriving your headlights on an unfamiliar road is never a good idea, but I’d bet we’ve all done it.

[moovova]

Was he heading to the Crimea, by chance?

[BereanBrain]

DON”T use you car’s GPS navigation system. PERIOD.
Use a smartphone. It has updated maps and perhaps vectors around traffic.

[scott7278]

https://news.yahoo.com/north-carolina-dad-dies-driving-231438848.html

A picture of the bridge in question is at that link.

[caver]

Darwin Award?

[Skywise]

There were no blockades in front of the bridge?!

[9422WMR]

“It was a dark and rainy night”
Sounds like Frankenstein!

“and he was following his GPS which led him down a concrete road to a bridge that dropped off into a river,”
Sounds like Beavis and Butthead!
The bridge didn’t drop off into a River, it was missing!
He drove down a road where a collapsed bridge resulted in him crashing into the river.
English is not that difficult.

[Drago]

A private road...barricades were up in late November 2014...not there later apparently?

https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=f0a5e050-ee40-4eb1-8ffc-897fafcb389f&cp=35.781173~-81.283444&lvl=19&dir=42.172478&pi=-2.3573208&style=x&mo=z.2.88&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027

Google maps shows “Road Closed”:
https://goo.gl/maps/thP2ihjQr4Fy1CqK9

[yetidog]

Good friend’s father died from driving off unattended and open ferry crossing at night with rain involved. Does happen.

[Beowulf9]

I don’t know for sure but say she did get the GPS updated. Say a bridge went out a day before he got there, or a week before, would it show?

[aimhigh]

Thanks for the post. It reminded to check my own navigation. They just posted an update.

[marktwain]

Lawsuit material par excellence.

[GingisK]

Was he wearing a bucket on his head?

[Chickensoup]

An acquaintance and her friend died in the 80s following a map and making a wrong turn on a dark and rainy murky night. They drove down a boat ramp.