Study finds Texas red-light cameras a plus

Surveillance cameras placed on red lights at certain traffic intersections throughout Texas have reduced traffic collisions, a study has found.

A study conducted by Texas A&M University's Texas Transportation Institute found that those Texas intersections monitored by the new red-light camera systems saw a 30 percent decrease overall in traffic accidents, the Houston Chronicle said Tuesday.

The figures used in the study came from accidents between July 1, 2007, to last June 31 at 56 intersections throughout the state.

The report did specify that due to incomplete surveillance data from some of the new cameras, the study's findings were not entirely conclusive.

While these results cannot conclusively determine that red light cameras are responsible for the overall reduction in crashes ... the presence of the treatment provided some effect on the frequency of crashes at the selected intersections for the limited time period of this analysis, the report said.

The Chronicle said the study found a 43 percent decrease in right-angle collisions at intersections with the cameras compared to those without, while rear-end collisions increased by 5 percent. No figures were given regarding changes in other collision types.