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New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and served two driving violation citations for reported negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

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

Police said they did not immediately pursue the riders due to concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

On Saturday, authorities announced they had issued the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4m followers on YouTube and over 1.2m on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the laws and norms of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: 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 go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide 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 reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the powers to crack down, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.