I remember this article when it came out. It certainly has merit and I did consider taking my helmet off.
Wes could you find his study? I imagine he was riding the same route at the same time of day and hoping he got the same drivers under the same conditions. Did his study count if cars passing him had another car in the on coming lane? Did he interview any of the drivers after to see if they passed him both with and without a helmet to see if they consciously gave more or less room or if there were other factors? What were some of the responses to his study?

It seems though the point of helmets isn’t to keep drivers a certain distance away because that’s the job of bike lanes. Helmets are meant to protect a person’s head when it comes in contact with something hard.