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New South Wales authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," stated a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the riders due to safety concerns but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, authorities announced they had served the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points per notice, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a local publication recently following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the harm that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister said. "We’ve got to ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are given the powers to crack down, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.