Currently, to comply with UK crash helmet safety standards a helmet must conform to UNECE regulation 22. This certifies that it is made to a certain standard and offers a good level of protection in the event of a crash. However a new update to the regulations is coming in from January 2024 with the certification ECE 22.06, and it is perhaps overdue as the regulations have not been updated in 20 years. 

As you would expect the new standards are higher and tougher than the old ones – probably a good thing for our heads! The new helmets will need to withstand more impact and go through demanding tests to prove it. The impact resistance will be tested at more points of impact and various angles, mimicking what might happen in a real-life accident. The helmets will also be tested with accessories attached (cameras for example), to ensure that they don't have an impact on the helmet's efficacy when it is in use.
The visor will be tested as though it's being hit by a high-speed object, sadly more realistic for a test than anything previously.

The new standard helmets are coming in over the next three years and will become the only legal helmets you can buy after 2024, although you will still be allowed to wear the old standard helmets, you'll just need to buy a new standard one when you replace it. 
There has been a lot of research into motorcycle accidents over the last 20 years and in particular what happens to the head-on impact, not something you might want to think about but it is good that someone is. 

New research into what happens to a rider's head and neck in a real bike accident, found that rotational motion on impact transfers force to the brain causing over 60% of brain injuries. This data has meant that an angled drop test is now included in helmet research. This may lead to new materials like Koroyd (polymer tubes) being used or internal MIPS Brain protection systems being built into helmets when the technology is there of course.
The new tech might mean the helmets are a bit heavier, but the rewards in the protection afforded should be worth it when they arrive. 

Spring has seen the first of the new breed of helmet arriving, one of them is the Arai Quantic sports-touring helmet which is in the vanguard of the new helmet standards. Existing ECE 22 helmets are still effective but the new standards should mean safety improvements for new helmets. 

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