Originally Posted by
Artkansas
Yes, it can, provided that the rubber is dry. And a sheet of aluminum foil will slow a bullet down, just a bit. Otherwise the electricity just slides along the outside using the water that nature so willingly provides during a thunderstorm. As has been shown by the examples of cyclists hit by lightning, a tiny bit of rubber in the rain, just won't keep you safe.
Well, as I say, even ordinary layers of rubber or some other insulator can be *some* protection against current running through the ground from a lightning strike (though the current moves up from the ground to the sky, rather than down, it should be said). It's much more of a practical matter than your comparison to aluminum foil and a bullet suggests. Again, I'm talking about the attenuated current near a strike, not anything that would attenuate a direct strike. You're right that water counters the effect, but not by any means completely so. It's much better, for example, to be standing on the ground some distance from a strike in tennis shoes, even in the rain, than barefoot.
If you're camping, to give another example, and a lightning storm is occurring, it's a practical measure to kneel on a pad inside of your tent, and to put as much clothing and whatever underneath you. You can reduce the chance of pain or even injury from indirect electrocution significantly.
Anyway, by far the best thing to do is get indoors.