TBH I did my most reckless driving in my first car - a 1977 Ford Fiesta 1.1L. I drove like a twat and the engine size, lack of real brakes, poor chassis, lack of head rests, dodgy construction and terrible suspension didnt not affect my desire or ability to drive fast and recklessly.  Though I only had one accident - pulling away at traffic lights the guy in front braked and I ran into the back of him.

I'm not sure speed bumps help as they also slow down ambulances. Chicanes and stuff seem to present a challenge to the boy racer. Speed cameras do nothing to stop people who are already driving illegally in a car not registered to their address (lots of people).  In some ways it's difficult to see how legislation will make all that much difference.

One area of interest though are some of the new techniques being employed in some parts of Europe and I think on their way here - psychologically targeted highway designs - eg. as you approach a school the road rises is now made from the same block paving as the footpath, no curbs, different colour to the tarmac leading to it.  The intention of suggesting you are actually somehow driving through the school and of course you would want to slow down.  The idea being you should automatically feel uneasy if you didnt slow down, that you feel conscious the rules and boundaries have changed and are unclear - all designed to put the emphasis upon the driver to respond to a change in the highway.

I do sometimes think this country presents too clear a picture to the driver - in the main everything is very obvious and nannylike - big signs, massive sliproads, high curbs, clear lines, wide roads. The effect is to leave the driver feeling cocooned and dominant over pedestrians, less in touch with what speed they are actually driving at. I think UK driver manners demonstrate this - I find people seem disconnected from other cars around them, unwilling to let people cross the road even when they are in a queue driving at 5mph, etc. Though as far as I know our road death count is pretty good compared to the rest of Europe and you must agree it's inevitable some people will be killed on the roads each year.

I found driving in urban areas in France encouraged me to drive more slowly - not because of driving on the wrong (yes wrong) side of the road, but because there were various measures which left me feeling more in touch with the environment around me and more aware of my speed.