Car Insurance with a CD10 conviction

You will receive a CD10 conviction if you are found to be driving without due care and attention, resulting in a CD10 endorsement on your licence. Of course, “without due care and attention” is a fairly broad designation, so these infringements are usually administered at the discretion of the police.

The definition of driving without due care and attention is:

• Driving that falls below the expected standard of a competent driver
• Driving that does not show reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or pathways.

Examples of offences that constitute driving without due care or attention include, among others:

• Eating or drinking at the wheel
• Overtaking dangerously
• Loss of concentration at the wheel
• Tailgating (driving too close to the car in front)

Driving without due care and attention essentially lumps together road offences that don't fall under the main categories such as speeding, insurance offences, drink/drug driving, and mobile phone use. Despite the fact some of these offences may involve going too fast, such as dangerous overtaking, because these offences don't fall under the category of speeding you won't usually be able to negate your punishment by taking a speed awareness course.

Just as the infringements for a CD10 conviction are quite broad, so too is the punishment. You can receive between 3 and 9 penalty points on your licence for this kind of offence. These punishments are based on severity of the offence and consequences of the action. If you receive more than 12 penalty points within 3 years you could be banned from driving for a minimum of 6 months.

You must declare your CD10 conviction to your insurer for 4 years from the date of the offence.

A CD10 conviction will increase your insurance premiums, with the increase dictated by the number of penalty points you receive for your offence. Minor infringements will only see a small increase in insurance premiums but more severe infringements, which caused serious injury or damage, could see your insurance premiums skyrocket.

For these reasons it's valuable to shop around for the best convicted driver insurance deals.