Intention does count for a lot. Cars aren't designed to destroy. Dynamite is.
Truly, however, we are not nearly as strict as we should be when it comes to driving. There is a clear and present case of public safety at hand, and too many people who have demonstrated they are unfit for driving yet they are allowed to legally do so. Drunk driving, for example, should be a crime that brings harsh, unyielding, and unwavering consequences, but so very often they get barely a slap on the wrist in comparison to the potential for risk great and severe harm they put others at. If someone becomes a habitual traffic offender, there should be no possibility for them to get their license back.