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New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation following a large group of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

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

Police said they did not chase right away the group due to concerns for public safety but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, authorities stated they had issued the American online personality known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper recently following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at 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 destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.