Grounding Cars: Why a Rubber Strip is Needed

[Ry122]

In my physics book it says that friction between cars and air can cause a build up of charge on the vehicle's body and that's why a rubber strip is often connected from the body of the car to the ground - to ground the car.
Since the tyres which are rubber are connected to metal which is connected to the shell of the car shouldn't the tyres be able to do the same thing?

 

[malawi_glenn]

haha never heard of that rubber strip :)

 

[mezarashi]

I think that it's not exactly correct to generalize all rubbery materials as having the same conductive properties. Even when we speak of car tires, you'll see that there are differences in the materials used.

As for the rubber strip, I've never seen one myself, but I have seen metal strips installed before tolling stations so that the operators don't get the zap of their life... thousands of times per day ;)

See:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/1994/November/11.html