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

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes 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 a nearby district.

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

Law enforcement indicated they did not chase right away the riders out of safety concerns but instead located the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities stated they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a penalty of $562 and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4 million followers on one platform and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper this week after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. That was one of the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a group ride, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," he said. "We’ve got to make sure 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 destroy them."

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