All helmets sold in the United States meet CSPC safety standards.
-- Lifted from April 2008 issue of Bicycling Magazine, p. 32

Fit, look, and number of vents are all you need worry about. Just think it is worth pointing out (as some others have) that almost every other sport that potentially endangers the skull (even cycling) mandates that helmets be worn. Hockey, baseball, football, motorsports, lacrosse...you get my point. I'm certain these helmets are not worn for decoration, yet quite a few of the impacts in these sports rival what a cyclist might endure. You can sit there and ask for your raw data to support the claim, but frankly, I don't care enough about it to dig up said data. The data you seek resides in each league head office.

The latest example I can think of is the Colorado Rockies' minor league first base coach who was killed by a line drive foul last season. The medical professionals stated clearly that he would have survived had he been wearing a helmet. While not cycling, a damn good example of how an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Suffice it to say, the logic of the anti-helmet advocate is flawed by mere numbers alone, and flies in the face of our own sport of cycling.