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NSW police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official David Driver on the following day.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, police announced they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The spate of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace 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 hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister stated. "We must ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are given the powers to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.