I think you need to start at the low end offences - get some bloody cops on the roads and prosecute - EFFECTIVELY - speeding, mobile phone use, aggressive tailgating etc.
As was pointed out to me on a speed awareness course (
*) the risk of getting killed by a speeding motorist is not just the speed they drive at - it is also a factor of how many of them there are about. Hence 1 x 100 mph driver is a killer driver yes, but 300 x 40 mph (both in a 30 limit over the same time period say**) means that it is the slower but more frequent speeders that are more of a threat and cause more of the deaths.
Also I know some are born boy-racers but the more you get away with something, the more it becomes ingrained and seems like you're doing nothing wrong and it can worsen over time.
This issue needs attention across the spectrum, not just dealing with the uber-dangerous drivers - and it should be addressed at the level of prevention rather than just with locking someone up *after* they have killed someone. Sentencing someone harshly brings noone back to life, but maybe dealing with it earlier in their offending career might stop their potential victims ending up dead.
*In mitigation I actually quit driving soon after, I took up cycling in-part *because* I recognised that I was becoming an angry (and thereby dangerous) driver because I was so fed up with it and basically hated it by the end of daily commuting. I drive about twice a year now and hire when I need to - shame I didn't really spot all the stupid things drivers do in myself until I took up cycling, but hey ho. I am an ex-arsehole driver.
**My proportions may be out but there is a significant disparity the frequencies of these types of driver.
