DOT is the 'minimum' requirement. There are certainly better helmets. That said, the DOT requirements came into being in response to the number of junk helmets

DOT is the 'minimum' requirement. There are certainly better helmets. That said, the DOT requirements came into being in response to the number of junk helmets in the 1960s/1970s. It provided a minimum bar that a rider could rely on. After some states actually mandated DOT helmets, there was a huge market for fake DOT stickers from riders that were still wearing crap helmets for 'style' points. Mostly cheap half-buckets. I started riding in the dirt at age 15, racing 3/8 mile dirt track at 16, and motocross at 17. Got my first street bike at 19. Rode about 100K miles until I moved from a rural part of the country to a heavily urban area, and gave it up because it was no fun in heavy traffic. Avoiding alcohol and drugs, definitely. Wearing good safety gear, also definitely. I trashed one helmet in my life, walked away with zero injury. Equipment includes proper shoes, pants, jacket. I had one high speed slide, head never touched the ground, but I lost a couple patches of skin, and that was with leather. Modern materials are better. Denim is worthless. Also, carefully choose who you ride with. I had a number of peers that I would not ride with, they were accidents waiting to happen, and I didn't want to get caught up in their dumb ass mistakes.