🔗 Share this article

New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving following a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 people operating 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 city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement indicated they did not chase right away the riders due to concerns for public safety but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities announced they had issued the American online personality known as the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality is said to have over 3.4m followers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a local publication this week following the event gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the harm that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister said. "We’ve got to ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are given the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.