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NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

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

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

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, authorities stated they had served the American online personality known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4 million followers on one platform and more than 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure gave comments to a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of Sydney. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, 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 two choices: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," he said. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.