🔗 Share this article

New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving following a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and rode through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the group out of concerns for public safety but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the US social media influencer known as the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and penalty points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper this week after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to say hi 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: whether 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."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The spate of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.