kblahetka
Supercharged
I would entrust an independent agency or party to perform such testing infinitely sooner and more than I would entrust such testing to the parties that are burdened with the compliance standards, Steve.
Also, and I know this for a fact, plenty, if not most $500 helmets (most of which in this country are both DOT and Snell approved) will do a better job of protecting your coconut than a $200 helmet. I have a friend here locally that owns the foremost sport bike performance, maintenance, upgrade and repair biz in this tri-state region (Metro NY,NJ &PA) who has a collection of both categories of lids that his customers (some of whom are dead or braindead) suffered bad and/or high speed accidents with and the costlier helmets have protected their users far greater than the less expensive, DOT only helmets.
I have had only two mishaps in my nearly 49 years of riding experience and bth resulted in two different Honda VTX 1800s being totaled out by my insuror. Neither inciident was my fault whatsoever. One took place at 65 mph, the speed at which my head collided with the macadam and the other occurred at about 30 mph. without a full face in the first instance, I'm dead, no ifs ands or buts. That Arai helmet definitely saved my life. In the second case I smacked my head at least twice, once against a quarter panel of the moving vehicle which struck me and once again when i went down and smacked my Bel satr enshrouded noggin against the pavement. In both instances there was not a mark on my head, not a sore neck, literally no evidence at all that my head participated at all with the rest of my body in either accident. Both lids were and still are both Snell and DOT approved. Given the hard experiences I have survives, I surely wouldn't think for even one NYC moment to test your theory about the differences in protective integrity between a premium helmet and a more economical one. That's just my hard earned take on it, though!
Well actually, those tests have been done already, and the one article posted even stated that there was one cheap Z something helmet that out performed most. That doesn't mean that cheaper helmets out perform more expensive ones, it means that out of the helmets tested the cheaper helmets held their own with the expensive helmets.
The reality is you do get what you pay for but not those things aren't just about safety. A $400 helmet will be more comfortable, better ventilated, and have better materials that contact your skin. Those contact and wear points will out last their cheaper counterparts. And those items are worth a premium especially if the helmet you own is uncomfortable to the point that you don't want to wear it.
Bottom line is, what you hear about in reports of accidents is for the most part unscientific. None of us have been riding around with impact sensors attached to our heads. If you crashed and you walked away, your gear did it's job. If you wear your gear everyday without discomfort or thought it's doing more than its job.
