I personally have broken two helmets and while I don't have any statistics on hand as to what would have happened if I had not been wearing them I'm sure I'm better off. One thing though, make sure that you have the chin strap on reasonably well. I don't mean constricting your throat, just secured in such a way that your helmet won't slide up and leave a 2 inch wide chunk of road rash on your forehead (not one of the 2 broken helmets). I did that once as a kid and have had a properly secured chin strap ever since.