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New South Wales authorities have issued a fine 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 converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

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

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the riders due to safety concerns but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, police announced they had served the American online personality who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame 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, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister said. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to destroy them."

The state reported 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.