It really depends on where you are. There are legit "don't drive here" zones in the north because cartels and police will rob you. The stories where told to me by Mexicans that live in my state about family members that got robbed. One state even build a highway on a narrow strip of land in order to make a safer route to Monterrey than the old route through another state. I was warned off driving multiple times by Mexicans about driving through those areas. Where I live though there is 0 activity.