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New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a large group of e-bike riders converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Police said they did not immediately pursue the group out of safety concerns but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police stated they had issued the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets 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. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a local publication recently following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, stating he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, 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 entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister stated. "We must ensure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are given the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW reported 226 injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.