While I already covered this in passing I feel like I need to really emphasize that due to light trucks now dominating the roadways in recent years, what happens when a cyclist gets hit is becoming very different than it used to be. And this will only get worse if more and more cars are traded in for light trucks. Which is the current trend.
All this data is still very new so this conclusion is purely my opinion as afaik a similar hypothesis has not yet been tested, but it appears as if despite new safer helmet technology (mainly MIPS), helmets just don’t work as well anymore in vehicular collisions because of what a vehicular collision actually entails now that SUVs and other light trucks are common on the road compared to what it used to when cars were.
In a collision with a car the cyclist gets launched over the hood and their head impacts the windshield or roof.
In a collision with a light truck the cyclist usually goes under the automobile instead and their head impacts the ground, bumper, and/or tire.
The cyclist is literally being run over.
Which is a lot harder for a helmet to provide protection for.
