Is a car really a safe place to be when lightning strikes?

AccuWeather.com reports some people may think that the rubber tyres on a car help to protect a driver and occupants from a lightning strike, but this is a myth as it is what sits on top of the tyres that makes the difference.

A fully enclosed, all-metal vehicle is very safe, but don’t touch interior metallic areas on a vehicle, Richard Kithil, president of the National Lightning Safety Institute, said.

The lightning charge goes around the outside of the vehicle, creating a Faraday effect and protecting the occupants inside. Fibreglass vehicles, convertibles or a vehicle with windows open, however, help defeat the fully enclosed objective, Kithil said.

At least 19 people have died from lightning strikes in the US so far in 2013, but none of the people were in vehicles at the time of the lightning strikes, according to the National Weather Service. There were more than 18 million cloud-to-ground lightning flashes in the continental United States during 2012, according to data provided by Vaisala, the owner and operator of the National Lightning Detection Network.

The National Lightning Safety Institute suggests safely pulling off to the side of the road, waiting out the storm, turning off the engine, putting one’s hands in one’s lap and not touching inside items such as door and window handles, steering wheels and gear shifts. According to the institute, heavy equipment such as bulldozers and backhoes with rollover canopies are safe during thunderstorms, but riding mowers and golf carts are not.

Lightning damage to a vehicle includes pitting, arcing and burning along with electrical system issues, the institute said.