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how long after drinking wine can you drive?


Lori

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Planning a picnic in the not too distant future. We would like to bring a bottle of wine with us. If we each have two glasses (regular wine glass size) how long should we wait before driving home? We will be near the sea, so we plan to walk for a few hours (after lunch). Don't want to drive with the alcohol still in our systems. Anybody have any idea? Or, do we have to leave the wine behind and take water?? It is a full day, into evening outing, but wine would only be consumed at lunch. Thanks so much for the help.

Lori
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Hi Lori - may be a good idea for the driver to stick to soft drinks and the rest of you can get as p****d as you like and not worry.

Oh, and also it might be a good idea to have your picnic somewhere warm and dry - it's b****y freezing and wet today!!

regards....helen

 

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Thanks Helen & Dick:

I guess if the driver only has one glass of wine at around 12:30 pm, with lunch, then doesn't drive until around 7:00 pm, he/she should be okay. It is always hard for me to find someone in the group who won't have ANY wine with lunch. I find that a lot, not all, of my friends don't take one or two glasses of wine that serious, but I do. So, it will probably be me that does the driving.

And, yes Helen, it could be raining up a storm. That would certainly ruin things. Planning for Oct. 30th at this point and planning to go somewhere near Ste Marie de la Mer (near Arles).

Thanks for the info. Had no idea of the time frame. Now I have a better idea.

Lori
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The thing to remember is not just the amount of wine drank with a meal, but the meal. A good sized meal and a small glass of wine can make you very sleepy and this is a VERY big cause of accidents on the roads.I know the first thing i want to do after a good lunch is put my feet up and nap for an hour or so, add a glass or 2 of wine and you can make that 2 hours.

The best bet for a driver is a "lite" lunch and NO booze.

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Apparently the gut and the digestion process have first call on your energy reserves - makes sense, I suppose. Hence feeling sleepy - but worse if you were fatigued to start with, and as you say, alcohol has a similar effect. Just having my first glass of sleep medicine now, in fact...
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Thanks to all. I think I have come to the conclusion that we can eat at 12:30 (picnic fare - baguettes, jambon, saucisse, cornichons, sliced veggie tray, etc., etc.) and I can have one or no glass of wine (others do what they wish). As we will be walking along the beach, taking coffee in the village and then walking around town, etc. 6 to 7 hours will pass since the eating of lunch before we get in the car to go home. And, it is SO true, a glass of wine with lunch can definitely zap your energy level. A vigorating walk (or two) along the beach should help us ALL wake up.

I'll take a look at the website.
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You may like to purchase one of the electronic breath testers available from chemists here in France, which are very accurate and are interesting as you can monitor your breath alcohol levels as the day gores on cost between 40 - 60 euros. Alternatively the disposable ones which cost around 2 euros.

Personally, I never drink when the wife is driving

Paul

 

 

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