Dear LFTP: the thank-you note question

• Do I have to write that thank-you note?

Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter: a driver's distraction hit her seven-year-old bicyclist, injuries were minor, and the driver bought him a new bike — must she write a thank-you note? The hosts debate fault, Mike jokes the kid probably pulled out in front of her, and Secular's answer settles it: no rule of etiquette demands thanks for a bike destroyed by inattentiveness. Ben suggests having the kid write the note; Dan tells a sobering bench story of a child killed on a bike.