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New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving after a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on the following day.

Police said they did not chase right away the riders due to safety concerns but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, police announced they had served the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a penalty of $562 and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper recently after the incident gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, 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 harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We must ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.