🔗 Share this article

NSW authorities have issued a fine against an American social media personality and handed out two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation following 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 gathering 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 subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the downtown area and a nearby district.

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

Police said they did not chase right away the riders due to concerns for public safety but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure gave comments to a local publication recently after the incident gained traction on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to greet people under 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 completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We’ve got to ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are given the authority to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

The state reported 226 injuries associated with electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.