🔗 Share this article

NSW police have issued a fine against an American social media personality and served two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had potential for people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of concerns for public safety but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, police announced they had served the American online personality who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and over 1.2m on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper recently following the event gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to say hi near 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 turns around, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries 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 given the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.