Have you ever thought that anyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?I'm starting to develop road rage when I’m driving on Bermuda’s roads.Let’s face it, it’s hard to be a courteous driver while sharing the road with a bunch of idiots who seem to have a death wish. I strongly believe the driving standards on our roads have gone downhill much like my patience.Get this, I'm driving on Harbour Road, got my tunes on you know, the greatest hits of Judy Garland and as I come round the bend, heading towards me on my side of the road is this jerk on a bike. I had to slam on brakes so that this moron could get between me and the car he was overtaking. This seems to be happening all too often today, not just bikes but cars too. It’s especially prevalent on the curvy roads like the one on Harbour Road outside the Dinghy Club, people cutting over to your lane because they are too lazy to turn their damn steering wheel to navigate the curve.Idiots!!Will someone explain to me please why it is that many of our bike riders think that they are totally invulnerable to a road traffic accident? Are they really that stupid or is there another reason that I'm unaware of?We went through a phase some 20 or so years ago when we had the problem of ’pack racing’ usually late at night when there was hardly any traffic on the roads. You would hear a loud buzzing kind of sound kind of like a hive of bees, and you knew there was a pack of souped-up Mobylettes heading your way.It was one of the most terrifying things to witness; bikes weaving in and out of traffic narrowly missing oncoming cars. Either we had some of the best motorbike riders in the world or these were some of the luckiest SOBs alive. I’m going for the latter.It was short-lived because in dem days dere we had de um-um, police "Cycle Squad" every teenager’s nightmare. Those cops seemed to be everywhere. They were sharp. In those days they didn’t have radar guns and would follow you for a third of a mile to clock your speed.It was such a treat to see the shocked expression on a speeder’s face as they heard, out of nowhere, the distinct sound of a motorbike siren. Sure, the Cycle Squad guys played the part on their Honda 500s. They would pull you over, kick the bike stand down and get off the bike all in one motion. They would then walk up to the offender in their leather boots with pen and ticket book in hand.However, and unlike today, the culprit would address the policeman as "Sir" not because he was trying to get out of the ticket, but purely out of respect for the uniform. Something unheard of today. Come on ‘Commish’ bring back de Cycle Squad and let’s show people a thing or two about the rules of the road!The other thing that has changed since those days is courtesy on the roads. Now I have always thought of myself as a courteous driver.I'm forever stopping to letting people in my lane, to let people turn etc. And I always wave to them to say thank you if someone else extends the same courtesy to me, but recently I'm not getting those thank yous as much as I used to.I'm on East Broadway a few days back and this car wanted to change lanes so I slowed down to let him in you know that idiot didn't acknowledge my kind gesture at all?! Then it happened again a couple of days later. I stopped my car to allow another car to turn into a parking lot on Front Street; not even a nod of thanks. Oh and by the way, he was yacking on his cell phone so clearly he was distracted and breaking the law.I did, however, think there might have been a breakthrough yesterday. Yet again, I stopped to allow a bike to turn up Court Street in the middle of rush hour traffic. If I didn't, God knows how long this poor guy would have been stuck there. So as he turned, he beeped his horn and waved and I thought to myself, "Self, I think we may have (excuse the pun), turned a corner.” It was, however, very short-lived as I realised he was waving to the guy behind me. I know this ‘cause I heard him shout: "Hey, check ya tonight.”How about the people that overtake you on the inside? The other day while passing by the Ferry Terminal on Front Street, I couldn’t believe this taxi driver actually did that! He pulled into the bus stop then swiftly cut me off. I thought he was pulling into the bus stop to let a passenger out, but no, he had other intentions. I couldn’t believe it! We’ve even got the tourists overtaking on the inside they see everyone else doing it and figure its normal. Surely they don’t drive like that back in their countries?So when did it all change? When did patience and common courtesy on our roads disappear? People, we need to get it back and we need to get it back fast!