🔗 Share this article American Online Influencer Penalized After Large-Scale E-Bike Ride on Iconic Australian Bridge NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday. The Event: An Illegal Gathering A gathering of around 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district. "This had potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated a senior police official the officer on the following day. Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed. Penalties Issued for Influencer On Saturday, police announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing. The influencer reportedly has over 3.4m followers on one platform and over 1.2 million on Instagram. Creator's Response The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation. "I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting 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 ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before entering 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 regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road." "Kids have done reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must make sure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them." NSW reported 226 injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.