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New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation following a swarm of electric bicycle users converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 individuals operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had potential for people to be injured and killed," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the riders out of safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, police stated they had issued the US social media influencer known as the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4m subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a local publication this week following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. 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 ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," he stated. "We must make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are given the authority to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

The state recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.