🔗 Share this article

New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving following a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of approximately 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Police said they did not immediately pursue the group due to safety concerns but instead located the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

On Saturday, police stated they had served the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer is said to have more than 3.4m followers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, it was just to say hi 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 rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said 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 hospital emergency departments are truly severe," he said. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.