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New South Wales authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of approximately 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had 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 due to concerns for public safety but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, police stated they had served the American online personality who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of $562 and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper recently after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of Sydney. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," he said. "We must ensure we prevent these things entering the country [and] officers are given the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.