Speeding, school bus blow-bys persist on London road where boy was struck, neighbour says

A month after a seven-year-old boy was struck and killed getting off his school bus near Lambeth, those living on the road where it happened say conditions remain largely unchanged when it comes to safety and driver behaviour.

Motorists on Longwoods Road continue to drive well over the speed limit, and continue to pass stopped school buses picking up and dropping off students, one area resident says.

"It's been at least a weekly, if not multiple times a week, kind of thing," said Charles Bakker. "You'd think that, just with how well known this story of Dante's passing has become, you would think people would start slowing down."

Dante Caranci, 7, was departing his bus at Longwoods and Murray roads on Dec. 16, just west of Lambeth, when he was struck by a passing vehicle around 4 p.m.

Caranci died in hospital the following day, sparking an outpouring of support from the community. A GoFundMe launched for his family garnered more than $250,000 in donations.

Details since have been few and far between for Caranci's family and the public, with London Police saying only that their investigation remains active and ongoing. It's unclear if charges are expected and a cause has not been released by police. 

In the wake of the tragedy, Bakker and his wife launched a petition requesting safety improvements on local roads, including speed traps and radar speed signs. More than 2,100 people have signed the petition, addressed to local politicians and London's police chief.

The couple and their four kids live a short drive east of the collision on Longwoods, where the speed limit changes from 80 km/h to 50 km/h, and where Bakker says drivers regularly race into Lambeth from the countryside.

Since the crash, he says police appear to have stepped up patrols and cruisers have been more visible, however little if anything else has changed on the ground.

Bakker has started filming his childrens' bus while it's parked to catch drivers ignoring the lights, something he said he saw it happen four times in the week after the collision alone.  Another local parent later wrote on Bakker's petition that Caranci's bus had seen two other blow-bys the day of the crash.

Last week, Bakker says while he was filming a pickup truck tried to beat the school bus, driving past it as lights were activated before quickly stopping a couple hundred metres down the road. Bakker said he reported the incident to police, and was told officers would speak with the driver.

The couple's petition also calls for stop-arm or infraction cameras to be mandatory on Ontario school buses. Provincial legislation allows municipalities to install them, and some communities, including North Perth, Ottawa, and Sudbury, have done so, but they aren't required.

According to Transport Canada, which administers and enforces motor vehicle safety regulations, school buses will be required to have "perimeter visibility systems" as of November 2027 that display multiple exterior cameras to the driver.

The new rules also apply to visibility systems that record images to catch driver infractions, but that function isn't required. Transport Canada is leaving that to individual jurisdictions to determine their own enforcement regimes

Road safety is a city-wide issue, Ward 9 Coun. Anna Hopkins said to CBC News last month. She encourages residents to contact their councillors, so their messages could be passed on to city staff and undertake traffic studies and surveys. 

The city is currently gathering public feedback until the end of January on a draft Mobility Master Plan, which will guide transportation decision-making for the next 25 years. Residents can plot suggestions for improvements on a map.

"This is a problem that extends beyond just something that the City of London can do something about. This is a multi-level problem. It's a cultural issue, really, and needs to be addressed at every level of government," Bakker said.

CBC News reached out to Rob Flack, MPP for Elgin—Middlesex—London, and to Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services, which plans and coordinates London-area school bus service, but did not receive responses before publication. 

CBC News also requested an interview with a member of the London police traffic management unit, but did not receive a response by publication.