🔗 Share this article

NSW police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation following a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, 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 the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the group due to safety concerns but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the American online personality known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The personality is said to have more than 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper this week following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. That was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, 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."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We must make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the authority to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

The state recorded 226 injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.