Letters: The benefits of electric bikes

Electric bikes have many benefits, a reader says. Photo/Getty

I am concerned by the letter from Evan Campbell under the headline "Electric bikes are a hazard" (December 22) which suggests banning e-bikes from (presumably shared) pathways or at least imposing a speed limit of about 10km/h. As his reason, he cites a single recent incident in which a silent e-bike passed uncomfortably fast and close to his small group with their dog.

As an 82-year-old rejuvenated by riding an e-bike ride, I regard the comments as unfair. From my own experience, either riding alone or with a group of other e-bike enthusiasts, I can truthfully say that, although some of us may ride quite fast when no one's around, we always give plenty of warning when approaching walkers who may not have seen us and slow right down to pass, often stopping for a chat.

I have personally never seen e-bikers riding dangerously fast or too close. Please don't tar us all with the same brush!

Peter Otway
Omokoroa

Get priorities right
The responses to my letter about the Green leader grandstanding on primary education shows inference that I am anti the Māori language. My original letter was about getting our priorities right in primary education given that there is a 40 per cent deficit today in the above skills at secondary schools.

I have an abiding memory of many years ago of working with a start-up business in the Waikato ... I was on site and was asked to help hire three teenage men for labouring work. I handed them a one-page form to complete. I was somewhat slow on the uptake that they couldn't read and/or write to that level of skill. So I wrote up the forms for them ... I often wondered since how they have got on in life.

Hence my belief that these skills are numbers 1, 2, and 3 in education. All other skills then follow on naturally in a wide and appropriate range and will lead to food on the table.

It has since been announced that under Labour/ National's co-operation that primary schools must gear themselves to teaching one of around 10 other languages. This explains why the Greens felt left out.

I have no doubt that Māori will be selected by many schools which is entirely natural and appropriate.

Bill Capamagian
Tauranga