Parker Cars Magazine: Issue 4

parker driver
Meet your chauffeur
The bit where we talk to one of Parker’s lovely drivers.
Manmeet Laghmani has been
driving for Parker Cars since 2015.
She lives in Greenford.
Where do you most love driving
in London?
Richmond is great. I love the
greenery and nature of Richmond
Park. Around Richmond Green is
nice, too. And down by the River
Thames is the best place to wait
for driving jobs.
If money was no object, what car
would you drive?
A Mclaren F1 racing car. I’ve never
actually driven on a racetrack but
it’s an ambition of mine. I’d get a
thrill from the speed.
What qualities do minicab
drivers need?
They should treat every
passenger as a member of their
own family. Passengers really rely
on us.
Favorite radio station while
driving?
Nick Ferrari’s breakfast show on
LBC.
Your top five driving songs?
Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira, Cheap
Thrills by Sia, Right Now (Na Na
Na) by Akon, The Lady in Red by
Chris de Burgh, Hero by Enrique
lglesias.
If you could be a professional
driver in another domain?
I’d love to be a Formula 1 racing
driver. Perhaps one of the first
successful female drivers in
Formula 1. There should be more
women in that sport.
What’s your best advice for new
London drivers?
Don’t just rely on satnav. Learn to
orientate your way around town
without it. Of course, you have to
use it if you’re in a part of London
you don’t know. But the problem
is that so many drivers have lost
their connection with the cities
they live in because they always
use satnav. I personally try to
remember street names wherever
I go, and to discover short cuts.
I’ve learned a lot since I started
working for Parker Cars.
If you were the transport
secretary, what London traffic
rules would you change?
I would allow private hire vehicles
to use bus lanes. I often see bus
lanes empty, especially outside of
rush hour. If black taxi cabs can
use them, why not us too? We
have passengers in the back, just
like them.
The one place in London you’d
avoid driving?
City Airport is terrible. And
around Waterloo Station and
South Bank can be bad.
So many drivers have lost their
connection with the cities they live in
because they always use satnav.”
The most famous person you’ve
had in the back of your minicab?
No one so far. But after this
interview appears I’m sure all the
stars will want me to drive them.
48 where to, parker?