The penalties for driving while using a mobile phone were increased heavily over the two year period, with more emphasis placed on punishing those who chose to ignore the law, with the possibility of prison sentences in severe cases.
Yet research from the AA that looked at eight insurance companies showed that at any one time, 100,000 motorists are still flouting this law, risking a minimum penalty of three points on their license and a £60 fine. In addition, insurance companies are steadily increasing the value of points incurred using a mobile while driving, increasing premiums to guilty drivers.
This means there is still a huge market to be tapped, according to Natalie Tye, channel marketing manager at Kondor, who said: “As insurance companies and the law continue to clamp down, there is good business to be had by mobile dealers, helping customers to understand the laws.”
Kondor’s managing director, Rob Haycock, added that in today’s economic market conditions it is increasingly difficult to sell fitted car kit because of price for the end user, and also price for dealers who need to have a lot of stock on hand to be able to fit solutions for all makes of car and mobile.
He commented: “In times like this, you need to make margin and accessories have traditionally been a very rich source of margin. I don’t think dealers make enough of peripherals. Yet this is quite an easy add-on for a mobile phone sale; people are looking for retro-fit, something that clips into place in the car, and is high quality. We sell SuperTooth, which is one really high quality brand that does very well.”
Kondor sells though dealers, including Carphone Warehouse, Tesco’s, Vodafone and T-Mobile.