RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - BRAZILIAN motorists are having to say goodbye to tropical cocktails and bottles of beer under a new drink driving law that prohibits any alcohol consumption at all.

The legislation, which came into effect June 20, cuts the blood-alcohol limit from 0.6 grams per liter to zero grams - meaning even one glass of wine, spirits or beer exposes a driver to tough penalties if caught.

The punishment is a US$596 (S$812.4) fine and a one-year license suspension.

And if the driver causes an accident resulting in death, it becomes classified as homicide with intent.

In practice there is a 0.2-gram tolerance to allow for a margin of error in the breath tests - necessary leeway in case cough medicine or alcohol residue from the previous day remains in the motorists' systems.

But already Brazilians are thinking twice before having even 'one for the road.' The 'dry law,' as it is being called, has already cut road accidents by 16 per cent, officials say.

Restaurants and bars are having to think up ways to cater to teetotalling drivers who are now having to steer clear of beverages such as the caipirinha, a powerful cocktail of sugarcane alcohol, lime and sugar that is popular throughout the country.

Taxi telephone numbers are being included in menus. One bar in the southeastern state of Minas Gerias has even strung up hammocks to let patrons sleep off their inebriation, while upmarket Sao Paulo establishments have assigned employees to act as chauffeurs for customers if necessary.

Brazil has long been struggling with a high road fatality rate of around 35,000 per year. Around half of those deadly accidents involve drivers who have been drinking.

Justice Minister Tarso Genro said the zero-tolerance law would be applied with 'common sense' by the police, offering a priest as example.

'The priest leaves a mass in which he had a chalice of wine - though he could have drunk simple grape juice - and he is asked for his driving license.

Certainly the police are going to take into account the priest's explanations,' he said.

Experts say the zero tolerance message is easier to understand than asking the public to calculate how many glasses they could consume before going over the previous limit.

They also say that 0.2 grams of alcohol is sufficient for a 70-kilogram person's coordination and depth perception to be impaired.

But the federal highway police have suggested many drink-driving motorists will get away with breaking the new law for a while yet, for lack of breath-testing equipment in this country of 190 million people.

Authorities, particularly in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, are especially short of units, though they have promised to buy more in the months and years to come. -- AFP