The man who filmed himself hurling abuse at two cyclists as he drove along a shared path to get around them near Jamberoo initially told police his sister captured the vision, a court has heard.
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Thomas Duncan Harris later accepted responsibility for the footage - which showed him illegally passing the cyclists as they rode side-by-side along Swamp Road on Australia Day - and said completing a traffic offender program had made him realise "not everything's about me".
The mobile phone footage - posted to Facebook and Instagram - showed the 27-year-old unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade at the pair, who were later identified as off-duty police officers.
"What's the point of us spending this money if you're not going to use it [the shared path], you f---ing d---heads," an irate Harris, from Albion Park Rail, shouted.
"Pull over, so I can have a chat," one cyclist responded.
"F--k off, f---ing idiot. Use the f---ing bike track, you dumb c--t," Harris yelled back.
Harris fronted Kiama Local Court on Tuesday, charged with using his phone while driving, offensive language, and driving on the path.
Police documents said Harris was behind the wheel of his 2006 Toyota HiLux when he came across the cyclists.
He held his iPhone in his right hand, recording from the driver's window as he crossed onto the grass verge and mounted the shared path at a speed of between 30 and 40km/h, police said.
The documents also revealed Harris first took aim at another, unknown, cyclist riding in the opposite direction yelling something and calling them a "c--khead".
He then caught up with the other two cyclists.
Police were made aware of the incident and later tracked down Harris, who went to Lake Illawarra police station on January 28.
According to police, he made full admissions to the offences, could not provide any plausible excuse for his actions and initially said his sister was the person who recorded the incident on the phone.
"However, upon being shown stills from the footage, the accused conceded that it was in fact himself holding the mobile phone," police said.
In court on Tuesday, Harris' solicitor Matt Ward entered guilty pleas to all three charges and told the court his client made no excuses for his behaviour.
Mr Ward stressed the offences took place in a rural area, not Crown Street in Wollongong, and there was no other traffic on the road at the time.
He said Harris - who works as a full-time boiler maker - had driven Swamp Road thousands of times in his life and it wasn't the first time he'd come across cyclists in the middle of the road.
Mr Ward told the court Harris was unable to go around the cyclists and made a "very poor decision" to travel along the shared path.
The court heard the incident being brought to people's attention was of "his own doing"; he uploaded the video to social media.
"He will now always be known as the guy who uploaded the video of the cyclists at Jamberoo," Mr Ward said.
In the days after the video went viral, a GoFundMe page was set up - by a stranger - to raise cash to cover Harris' legal costs.
Mr Ward said Harris did not know the person behind the online fundraiser, which eventually raised just over $4000.
While Harris was legally entitled to the money, Mr Ward said he had donated it to Motor Neurone Disease research instead of keeping it for himself.
Harris even added money to the account to ensure the donation was $4000, given GoFundMe takes a percentage of funds raised, he said.
The court heard Harris' record was "not a bad one", with one speeding offence and one for negligent driving.
"He's made a very poor error of judgement," Mr Ward said of the Australia Day incident.
He said the court case had had an effect on Harris, and the level of embarrassment and remorse was "fairly significant".
Police prosecutor Sergeant Rachel Biffin described Harris' actions as "completely inappropriate and unsafe behaviour", and said a conviction should be recorded as a means of general deterrence.
Ms Biffin said thousands of people had viewed the video and thousands more would become aware of Tuesday's court outcome.
A lack of conviction would send the message the behaviour was OK, she said.
In response, Mr Ward said the fact anyone who posted a video online of them doing the wrong thing would be caught by the police could also be seen as a general deterrent.
Magistrate Michael Stoddart questioned whether Harris had wanted a lot of people to see the video, which he said had been viewed 3 million times.
In response, Mr Ward said one would think Harris wouldn't have posted the footage if he thought it would have got the traction it did.
Of Harris' foul-mouthed tirade, Magistrate Stoddart said young kids could have watched the video.
"Nothing to be proud of, is it?," he asked Harris.
"No, your honour," Harris replied.
Magistrate Stoddart also questioned if Harris had received feedback from his mates and whether he was trying to be a hero by uploading the video online.
The magistrate said there were a "serious set of facts" before the court and Harris' actions were "extremely dangerous".
"This is just total stupidity ... given the facts before the court, there needs to be a conviction," he said.
"In my view, to deal with the matter without conviction would be totally inappropriate, and that relates to all three matters."
Harris was convicted of all charges and fined a total of $1250 - $500 for each of the driving offences and $250 for his offensive language.
The court heard he had already been stripped of 16 demerit points by Roads and Maritime Services. The offences occurred during the Australia Day double-demerit period.
Harris has since undertaken a traffic offender program, with a court-tendered completion document telling of his self-reflection.
Asked how the program had changed his attitude towards the offences he committed, Harris answered: "It made me realise, not everything is about me. There is no rush to get anywhere and to be more patient."
Harris was silent as walked from court and hopped into the back seat of his parents' ute.