More than 25 people from Chatham-Kent boarded a school bus before the sun rose Wednesday and travelled to Queen's Park to call for concrete barriers between Windsor-Essex and London.

The group will be in the member's gallery when area MPPs questions Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca about highway safety and when he reads more than 3,000 names from people across Ontario who have signed a petition demanding the barriers into the legislature's record.

"We're here because of tragedy, because we've lost loved ones in 401 crossover accidents," said Alysson Storey.

Several protesters are immediate family members of people killed on the highway, she added.

"It means a lot for them to be here and to have them meet the decision makers in Queen's Park firsthand so we can put faces to names and remind them these are not statistics they're real people who had loving families."

The province currently has plans to install high-tension cable barriers along the busy 50-km stretch between Tilbury and Victoria Road, but Storey said that won't be good enough.

"The cable barriers are useful in preventing crossovers from most vehicles, but not with large transport trailers and if you've driven on the stretch of 401 in Windsor-Essex through Elgin County you know how many trucks are on that stretch of road," she explained.

The transportation minister requested a personal meeting with the group and Storey said she's hopeful he'll listen to their concerns and commit to doing something "as soon as possible."