NSW authorities have issued a fine against an American social media personality and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.
A group of approximately 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and rode through the downtown area and a nearby district.
"This had potential for people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on Wednesday.
Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of safety concerns but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.
Later in the week, police stated they had served the US social media influencer known as 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 three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.
The influencer reportedly has over 3.4m subscribers on YouTube and more than 1.2m on Instagram.
The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.
"I accept the blame. That was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to say hi near 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 turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."
The spate of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said 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 stated. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are given the powers to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them."
NSW recorded 226 injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of the following year, that figure surged to 233 injuries plus four deaths.
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