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NSW police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving after 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 gathering of approximately 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"There was a risk of 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 due to concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

On Saturday, authorities stated they had served the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4 million followers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, saying he regretted 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 abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we turn around, basically, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said 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 harm that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.