I assume that some of you heard about the excessive consumption of beer and other alcohol in Australia. Following article found in The Manly Daily gives you an impression of how popular drinking is in Australia.

John Morcombe

19 December 2007

ON one night 61 drivers had breath tests, and 59 had been drinking. When will the message get through?

Almost every driver breath-tested during a two-hour period on a popular rat run through Newport had alcohol in their system.

Out of 61 drivers stopped, 59 registered a reading and four were over the limit.

The appalling statistic comes as random-breath testing celebrates its 25th anniversary, but highlights the fact drivers either haven't learned to curb their behaviour or are still willing to take a chance at escaping detection.

On Saturday night Northern Beaches Highway Patrol set up their specially-equipped booze bus on Prince Alfred Pde, which drivers use in an attempt to avoid police on Barrenjoey Rd.

The four people over the limit included a 57-year-old Newport woman who was charged with mid-range drink driving and had her licence immediately suspended, a 29-year-old man from Alexandria who was charged with low-range drink driving, a 62-year-old man from Avalon who was charged with high-range drink driving and had his licence immediately suspended and a 64-year-old man from Bilgola Plateau who was charged with low-range drink-driving.

The Northern Beaches has the worst drink-driving record in the metropolitan area and the seventh worst area in the state.

Since random breath testing was introduced in December 1982, nearly 58 million breath tests have been conducted.

The worst month was March 2002, when 2466 people in NSW were charged with drink driving.

Northern Beaches Highway Patrol's Sgt Paul Green said there were three main reasons for the problem - complacency, ignorance of how much they could drink before driving and using poor public transport as a justification for taking a chance of escaping detection.

Sgt Green said the sponsoring of the booze bus by G Brothers of Mona Vale showed businesses supported the crackdown, but motorists were still being selfish by thinking they can get away with drink-driving.

``People use the rat run along Prince Alfred Pde and Hudson Pde after leaving licensed premises at Newport and Mona Vale because they think they'll escape being breath-tested on Barrenjoey Rd,'' he said. ``But we'll catch them wherever we can.''

Despite the northern beaches' poor record, former police minister George Paciullo, who oversaw the introduction of random breath testing, said it had reduced the carnage on the roads since the 1960s, '70s and '80s, when having ``one for the road'' was part of Australian culture.

``The measure's exceptional degree of success could not have been achieved with universal community acceptance if it was not for the dedicated, courteous and competent way in which police have enforced it,'' he said.