🔗 Share this article

NSW police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, police stated they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4m subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. 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 the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, 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 a decision to make: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are given the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.