🔗 Share this article

NSW authorities have issued a fine against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving following a large group of e-bike riders converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of safety concerns but instead located the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities stated they had served the US social media influencer known as the influencer, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people under 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: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are granted the powers to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.