It's news to me. I have never known a time when somebody would not be held responsible for killing somebody by dangerous driving.
For me, I see such laws as totally reasonable, and imply free-will of the nature that I refer to.
In some situations, the responsibility is negated because it is seen as an 'act of God'. Historically, the responsibility could be placed on the parents (for example), or on the family, or on a larger community.
People have been driving for a very short period of time. The notion of personal responsibility is actually a fairly recent one and is far from universal even today.