Helmets are ok with me , when I had my bad crash I fell sideways when my front wheel washed out on wet leaves & I was body slammed onto the concrete with enough force to break my hip & fracture my arm, when I came out of the hostpital a week later I found that the outer shell of my helmet was badly gouged & the polystirine inner split right through on the left side, if I was'nt wearing it Im sure I would have had a serious head injury as well . Here in N/Z cyclist are required to wear a helmet by law ,I used to wear a helmet 'cos I had to but now I wear one as I feel it protects my head