I'm still walking, talking, and writing because of my Shoei helmet, as a number of years ago, I was involved in a ragged crash in the mountains of Los Angeles.
It was my own fault, as while I was riding through one particular canyon at sunset, I didn't see a patch of gravel mid-way through a turn, felt my front tire slip, and attempted to pry the motorcycle back up onto two wheels. The resulting high-side threw me at around 20 to 30 mph into the canyon's rock face where I rag-dolled across until coming to a stop alongside the road.
That gymnastic routine resulted in a broken shoulder, a bruised spine and lungs, me sleeping in a chair for two months, and a concussion. I'm still paying for the crash all these years later, but it could've been oh-so-much worse, as the rocks I bounced off of gouged three 1/8th to 1/4th-inch cuts into my helmet. Without it, again, I'd be dead.
