What did your helmet look like after the fall? Can you post a picture? If it was crushed then I would believe that the foam in the helmet may have helped to slow the impact of your head and brain. However, almost every single broken helmet I have ever seen are split into two halves with a big crack and virtually no crush. What if you you got in a minor fender bender with your car and the crumple zone was split into two? Would that give you any protection? No.

Helmet manufacturers know that there is no way to actually cushion your brain from any real sort of accident without the helmet being so big, heavy, and hot that no consumer would buy one. So they make cool looking ones with a trillion "vents" that dont protect your head and make a fortune doing it.

Helmets are a good idea for small children learning to ride a bike who may fall off and bump their head while riding. I am an adult and that type of accident just does not happen. I want protection from real world accidents but that helmet just does not exist.

With all that in mind I do occasionally wear a helmet on long rides. Its a rock climbing helmet thats not made out of a slurpy cup.