Biker 101: Don’t believe the myths that a helmet won’t save you in a crash, or that it will simply leave you brain damaged. Could that happen? Yes, it is possible in the right circumstances. But that's rare, and if you hit that hard, you are likely to be killed by other injuries. It's actually the un-helmeted rider who is liable to cross from animal to vegetable, and often from a relatively minor impact that would have damaged nothing but his ego if he'd been wearing a DOT helmet. Statistics clearly show that riders using DOT helmets survive crashes more successfully than those without them.