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NSW police have issued a fine against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving after a swarm of electric bicycle users converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of around 40 individuals riding e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of safety concerns but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, police announced they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a local publication recently following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going 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 group ride, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. 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 electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We must make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the powers to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.