Bolts from the blue can strike 10 15 miles from the thunderstorm.
Will rubber tires protect you from lightning.
Most people believe the rubber tires on a car prevent lightning strikes.
If you check out the graphic below you will notice how the current exits to the ground through the tires.
However the steel frame of a hard topped vehicle provides increased protection if you are not touching metal.
The truth is rubber tires don t prevent lightning strikes in the least bit.
Myth 4 if you don t see rain or clouds you re safe.
So the rubber tires on your car do not protect you from lightning they simply ground your vehicle so that the electricity has a place to exit.
Rubber does not protect you from lightning.
Rubber tires on a car protect you from lightning by insulating you from the ground.
Rubber is indeed an electrical insulator but your shoes or bike tires for instance are way too thin to protect you from a lightning strike.
Here s where your grandmother is right though your car is a fairly safe place to be in a thunderstorm but for a different reason entirely.
Ironically it s not the rubber tires insulating the car but rather the conductive metal framing which protects you by conducting the electricity around the vehicle and its occupants.
Myth 8 wearing metal on your body attracts lightning.
Myth 7 if you touch a lightning victim you ll be electrocuted.
Myth 6 if you re outside in a storm lie flat on the ground.