Vent: My GPS took me down a one-lane dirt road during a thunderstorm yesterday

I was making a delivery out in the rural part of the county, the rain was coming down hard, and my GPS somehow routed me onto a gravel road that turned into mud halfway through. The van started sliding sideways toward a ditch and I had to throw it in reverse for about a quarter mile to get back to pavement. I was stuck there for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get back on track. Turns out I could have just taken the highway exit two miles earlier and saved myself the headache. Anyone else have a GPS send you into a disaster zone like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

eric_knight726d agoMost Upvoted

Nah, GPS saved me from a flash flood once by routing me up a hill. Sometimes it knows.

hannah_perry26d ago

Wait, didn't you mean a gravel road that turned into a dirt road once the rain hit? Gravel usually holds up better than mud in storms, but I guess if it was just a thin layer on top of clay it'd turn to slop fast. I had a similar thing happen near Smithville last spring, GPS sent me down Weavers Road which is basically a cow path that dead ends into a creek.

janarivera26d ago

Three Springs Road up near Mason County is exactly the opposite situation actually. That gravel road turns into a solid packed surface after a hard rain because the limestone chips lock together tighter when they get wet. I drove my old Civic through a thunderstorm out there last June and it was actually easier to drive than when it was dry and dusty. The clay base underneath is what makes all the difference, Weavers Road sounds like it has that nasty black gumbo clay that turns into grease when wet.