🔗 Share this article

NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and served two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 individuals riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and rode through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on Wednesday.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the group out of concerns for public safety but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the American online personality known as the influencer, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2m on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for regulation. The federal health minister, the minister, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must ensure we stop 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 recorded 226 injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.