Ask Paolo Savoldelli if wearing a helmet may have been a sensible thing to do.
After finishing stage 11 Savoldelli rode back down off the Pla-de-Beret hit a spectator, crashing and wacked his head on the ground. You guessed it "No Helmet". Suffered a gash in his forhead requiring a number of stitches. He must have also suffered some concusion and whilst he started stage 12 the following day he withdrew early suffering from headaches caused from the previous days crash.
A dumb thing for him to do, no helmet. He was just fortunate he didn't suffer a worse head injury.
When Eddy Mazzoleni went cart wheeling over the armco railing, did you notice that when he got back up and riding he had stones embeded into the vents in his helmet??
(I guess not)
Better they stuck in the vents that stuck into his skull.
Perhaps he would have suffered a head injury to some degree if he did not have a helmet on.
I bet he is glad he was wearing one.
Lets look at an analogy.
MotGP racing. Has aurguably the best motorcycle riders in the world.
Very rarely is there a death (and any that have occured have not necesarily been from a head injury).
They crash just like in cycle racing and can suffer many varying injuries, but rarely a head injury. Maybe they don't need helmets after all???
Common sense? you obviously don't have any, perhaps you've hit your head a few to many times and can't see reality too clear.
Helmets are there to reduce the chances of suffering head injuries.
For every crash were a rider may hit/graze his head on the ground it's the helmet that absorbs the impact not his skull.
One more note:
These cycle races such as the TDF are on show for all the world to see. Riders get idolised and influence Joe Public. If/when the pro cyclist does not wear a helmet Joe Public thinks to himself I want to ride like him, off goes the helmet because I want to look cool. (a caved in skull doesn't look all that cool.) When you children say they want to be cool like the pro cyclists do you say, be careful & make sure you have your cap on.
Don't go saying only a moron would be influenced by the pro cyclists because how many bikes of 'X' brand get sold because of racing success. How many team jerseys do you own etc. etc.