🔗 Share this article

New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and served two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving following a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, 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 a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders due to safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, authorities announced they had served the American online personality known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The personality reportedly has more than 3.4 million followers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The content creator gave comments to a local publication recently following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, stating he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms of Sydney. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

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

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister stated. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are granted the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.