If Google Maps sends people across a bridge that has not existed for almost a decade, I wonder why there have not been many more such incidents. Likewise with the signage and barricades.
Maybe this unfortunate story is a reminder that GPS navigation is just an assistant, and you should always pay attention to where it's telling you to go.
because normally broken roads get blocked of e.g. for bridges using concrete barricades
and potential unmaintained off road roads tend to at least have warning signs and often are very obvious visible bad ideas to drive on
so even if google routes people there they normally know better then to take that route
through there had been all kind of cases
like a (river) ferry being listed as a normal route in the map and people driving into the river at the ferry dock at night when the ferry was on the other side
or people taking country side roads without any infrastructure they are guaranteed to get stuck one when they run out of gas because of navigation apps (not just google), like the app trying to send someone through the desert
Maybe this unfortunate story is a reminder that GPS navigation is just an assistant, and you should always pay attention to where it's telling you to go.