Surviving a lightning strike while driving

Theoretically, the safest place to be during a thunderstorm is inside your car. A woman in the United States found that out the hard way, when her Ford Edge got hit by lightning while she was driving, and she walked away without a scratch.

According to the Rochester paper, a lightning storm at six in the evening was getting worse as the woman was driving on the highway. As the sky kept getting blacker, she kept on moving when suddenly there was a “huge blinding light, deafening explosion and the car was just dead.”

She managed to slowly roll the dead Edge to the side of the road. It is speculated that the lightning struck the standing radio antenna at the front of the roof, then traveled through the top, proceeded to shatter the rear window and exited through the Ford emblem on the tailgate.

“Vehicles are very safe. It’s the safest place to be in a lightning storm because the electricity has to get to the ground and with the rubber tyres it insulates you,” said the manager at Ford’s repair garage where the brand new Ford Edge ended up.

The woman, who was not injured at all, bought the 2008 Ford Edge, in December. Luckily the sun roof and its shade were closed tight, although the panoramic glass roof was heavily cracked up. It is a good lesson in what to do while driving in a storm with no tall buildings around.