Are drive-bys universal?

I was surprised and happy to see a recent upsurge in site visits from Australia, and most of them were coming from a post on an Australian baby issues website called Essential Baby. The poster there had not heard of the term "mommy drive by" (or "mummy drive by" in the case of Australia!], and I started to wonder to what extent drive-bys are an American phenomenon?

A quick look through some of the forum headings on Essential Baby made it clear that some of the same debates are the same in Australia—there was an EXTREMELY long thread on breastfeeding vs. formula feeding, for example—but I am sure there are many other issues that are culturally specific.

By the same token, maybe giving and receiving advice is viewed differently in different places? Or maybe it's done in a different way?

For example, I've read that in Norway, breastfeeding rates are extremely high. Does that eliminate the breast vs. bottle debate—because if you are formula feeding, the assumption would be that there must be a clear reason? Or might the debate be even more heated—because the assumption is that almost everyone else can do it? Or maybe unsolicited advice is delivered and/or received in a different spirit than it seems to be in the US?

This question of culturally-specific drive-bys is related to another post I've been meaning to write—the recent furor over whether or it's OK for moms to have what's known as a "cocktail playdate" [a group of moms get together and have a drink or two while their kids are playing.] For readers outside the US, you may be surprised to learn that this is even an issue.

So what's your take on the cultural-specificity of drive-bys? Are they mainly an American thing? If not, what are the hot-button issues in other places?