🔗 Share this article

NSW authorities have issued a fine against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the riders due to concerns for public safety but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, authorities stated they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of $562 and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4 million followers on one platform and more than 1.2m on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper this week following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, the minister, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," he said. "We must make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the authority to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW recorded 226 injuries associated with electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.