Hi everyone,
We're leaving for Tuscany & Provence in 2 days and will be leasing a car for the whole 5 weeks. After reading about everyone's great meals and restaurants we are wondering about driving after having a wine or two (and not 3!) over a long lunch or dinner. What does everyone else do?

calm down and drive carefully.

drink as much as you want and designate your companion to drive--make sure he/she sticks it to 1-2 drinks.

Nothing more to think about--just don't do what you do at home as you can drink more if you know your route than you can in unknown places.

I don't know what other people do but one of us does not drink at all if we have to drive. Or else we find a restaurant within walking distance. The laws against drunken driving are very strict in France (0.5mg alcohol/liter of blood) and controls are frequent, even at night.

Driving after dinner (not only the drinking part, but driving after dark on narrow, curvy roads) is one of the reasons why we like to stay IN towns (large or small), not outside of them. That way, we can walk to dinner, and have a nice after-dinner stroll, without having to think about how much wine we've had.

Lunchtime seems to be less of a problem for us. We don't always order a bottle of wine for lunch (a glass, or a half-bottle, or even no alcohol at all). Also, we're often sightseeing in the town we eat lunch in, so it may be a while before we get back in the car.

When we are going to be eating and then driving, I'm always the designated driver, because I don't enjoy wine as much as DH, and because I actually like driving on those narrow, curvy European roads! So then I do the same thing I do at home - stop after one glass of wine.

Oh, and I find that the slower pace of meals in Europe means that my body has more time to metabolize the wine that I do drink.

Yes, alcohol limits are more strict in France and Italy than those in NZ (we have 0.8mg/100mls blood)and I think to be safe our designated driver will stick to no more than 1 glass. Thanks, really appreciate your replies.

>>>controls are frequent, even at night<<<

not EVEN at night, ESPECIALLY at night

We have a rule of thumb here that says: one glass per hour is safe, so during a two-hour-meal you may enjoy two glasses of wine

Personally, when I am the designated driver, I prefer not to have even one glass of wine. The temptation is too great to go on to have another and before you know it be over the limit.
Better that you take turns as driver and don't drink alcohol when you are driving.

Rule of thumb; you'll be legal after two glasses but whether or not you're comfortable is another matter

0.3%% is really not much, so just don't drink and drive.

Italy....0.05 BA limit!
UK.......0.08
France...0.05
Poland...0.02..0.5
Between .0.02 and 0.05 a fine, .05 and over, jail.

A prudent foreign visitor driving a car should not drink any alcohol. Even the smell of alcohol can cause trouble! Locals attending parties opt for a taxi both ways! BA may need 12 hours to clear the body. Read the wine bottle to learn the alcohol content. Some beers contain 10% alcohol. Specialty liquors may be at 50/60% alcohol.

I am under the impression that in some countries, in the event of an accident, the fault can automtically be transferred to the driver that has been drinking.

Just find a way to not do it.
Plan ahead and pay for the taxis.

My nephew was breathalysed the day after a party and lost his licence. He had taken a taxi home, and another back to the place the party had been to collect the car (his GF was designated driver but drank too much!). He was stopped on his way to work, some 14 hours after he left the party.
Beer in Europe tends to be stronger than in the US or even the UK, wine too is increasingly alcoholic, 14-15% is not uncommon. A glass of wine can easily already be two units of alcohol, especially if you fill the glass a bit too well.
If you are involved in an accident and you have been drinking the fault is automatically yours. It really isn't worth the risk.

I found myself nodding my head while reading Lexma90's post. We usually stay in small towns and walk to and from dinner (or make our own in our rented house).

At lunch, I have one glass of wine and we inevitably walk around a bit more before getting back in the car, so it's usually 90 minutes before we start the engine.

Anselm

One of us....holds off!!

That's one of the reasons I love Venice...we walk to the vaporetto after both of us have enjoyed the wine!!

The glass an hour rule is very misleading and likely to lead to your being well over the limit. Everyone metabolises alchohol at a different rate so there is no way to tell how quickly or slowly any individual will.

Even in the UK, with a higher limit allowed, that would take the vast majority of people over the limit.

Either don't drink at all or just have one SMALL glass of wine over a meal.

Whoever is driving should have no more than 1 moderate size glass of wine - if that. Not only will they end up over the legal limit - but driving a strange car in a foreign country on dark and often winding roads is asking for disaster.

And the rules in europe are not lax as they are in the US - where you can drive drunk time after time after time with few penalties. DUI is taken VERY seriously - esp if there is an accident involving property and/or personal injury. (And, I think you'll find that any car insurance you buy is void if you have an accident while over the limit - so the financial risks are high too.)

Sorry - we do enjoy wine with dinner - and always arrange to take a taxi back to the hotel afterwards.

Keep in mind, too, that at least in France police can stop you for no cause. They do random pull-overs of cars and breathalyze you on the spot.

>>>>>>
Rule of thumb; you'll be legal after two glasses but whether or not you're comfortable is another matter
>>>>>>

more like 'Rule of Dumb'. in france and the other .05 countries, two glasses can be flirting very close to a big problem (from a legal point of view). and yes, roadblocks are very common in france.

2 glasses is probably ok in the uk where we have a .08 limit.

In many countries more than 1 glass of wine will put you over the legal limit. It's simply much better to either take a cab - or have one person not drink at all.