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New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving after a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on Wednesday.

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the group out of safety concerns but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, authorities announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of $562 and penalty points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality is said to have over 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2m on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a local publication recently after the incident gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we turn around, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We must ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the powers to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.