🔗 Share this article

NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on the following day.

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

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, police stated they had issued 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), carrying a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. So 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’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. The federal health minister, the minister, commented 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 harm that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are given the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of the following year, that figure surged to 233 injuries plus four deaths.