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NSW police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a large group of e-bike riders converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the riders due to safety concerns but instead located the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police stated they had served the American online personality who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The personality is said to have over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure gave comments to a local publication this week following the event gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," he said. "We’ve got to ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the powers to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded 226 injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.