The idea that a helmet crushes to help reduces deceleration forces is a persuasive one, but I've yet to see or hear about a helmet that actually does this. It's a myth. Stop believeing the propaganda. To do this the material deeds to be a lot more deformable than the stuff they currently use.

One manual I got with a helmet actually claimed it would crush down to 1cm thick (it didn't). They [i]always[\i] crack well before they crush. As such they have failed. In the case above, it's failed doubly as he experienced an (albeit brief) period of unconsciousness. My conclusion from the story is that the helmet provided minimal to zero protection from deceleration forces. Dude, a far better safety practice if you're gonna ride like that would be to never do it alone.

I personally think helmets are poorly designed and their testing is inadequate. They could quite easily be better, but there hasn't been a noticable improvement in their design for years. It's a case of doing just enough to comply with the standards to get by, and sadly this has resulted in helmets that are little better than a placebo.

I wear a helmet (as I am legally required to) but I am under no illusions that it will save my life in a really nasty crash. It has, however saved me from many cuts, bruises and bumps (not to mention the occasional magpie) and that's all I expect of it.

As for Rev. Chuck's invitation - I'll pass. Helmet or no helmet, a whack to the skull with a pick handle is gonna hurt. A lot.