I found that locals often give subtle explicit clues e. g. "you could ..." vs "I would ...". The trick is to ask the right questions, listen and watch the body language. On some occasions that saved me trouble. Eventually the locals adjusted advice when I did ask the right questions. Itīs often "well there is a rarely used back road but I wouldnīt use it right now (or at all)".
I agree with you that advice should be judged with common sense and never be relied on blindly.
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If it isnīt broken, it doesnīt have enough features yet.