[Confusion]

Yes, an early quote from the article:

  The $40 helmet is one of the great success stories of the 
  past half-­century. Like seat belts, air bags, and smoke 
  detectors, bike helmets save countless lives every year. 
  They do a stellar job of preventing catastrophic skull 
  fractures, plus dings and scrapes from low-hanging tree 
  branches and other common nuisances.

Helmets are good. The author is wondering why they aren't better at preventing concussions.

[oever]

New paper helmets help prevent concussions because they have a crumple zone that make the deceleration more gradual.

"If you crash at 15 miles per hour in a normal helmet, your head will be subjected to around 220G [G-force], whereas the new design absorbs more of the impact and means you experience around 70G instead," says Surabhi.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25681895