New South Wales police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for reported negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.
The Incident: A Prohibited Ride
A gathering of approximately 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.
"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.
Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders due to safety concerns but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.
Penalties Issued for Influencer
Later in the week, police stated they had served the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.
The personality is said to have over 3.4m followers on YouTube and more than 1.2m on Instagram.
Creator's Response
The content creator spoke with a major newspaper this week after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.
"I accept the blame. It 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 rules and standards of the city. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, 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 rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."
National Debate on E-Bike Regulation
The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, the minister, commented that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."
"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are granted the powers to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them."
NSW recorded over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.
