Do Rubber Tires Protect You From Lightning

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.

Do rubber tires protect you from lightning.

Most people believe the rubber tires on a car prevent lightning strikes. Rubber soled shoes and rubber tires provide no protection from lightning. The good news though is that the outer metal shell of hard. Being in a car doesn t guarantee 100 protection against a lightning strike just because of the fact that it has rubber tires that do not conduct electricity.

If you check out the graphic below you will notice how the current exits to the ground through the tires. 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 is indeed an electrical insulator but your shoes or bike tires for instance are way too thin to protect you from a lightning strike. What keeps you safe while inside a car is the metal body surrounding you which creates a faraday cage.

The lightning follows the path of least resistance down the metal framework and into the ground. Whether it s a yokohama or a continental car tires don t protect you from lightning. Like trees houses and people anything outside is at risk of being struck by lightning when thunderstorms are in the area including cars. Lightning often strikes more than three miles from the center of the thunderstorm far outside the rain or thunderstorm cloud.

Tires are too small to insulate a lightning strike. Do the rubber tires on your car protect you if you are outside the car and you re leaning on it. Rubber does not protect you from lightning. However the steel frame of a hard topped vehicle provides increased protection if you are not touching metal.

Rubber tires on a car protect you from lightning by insulating you from the ground.