In an attempt to meet federal clean air standards, Texas will cut the speed limit to 55 mph in the eight-county Houston area.

The Texas Transportation Commission voted last week for the maximum speed limit. It will apply to Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Galveston, Brazoria, Liberty, Chambers and Waller counties.
The speed limit is part of a plan approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in October, which is designed to help cut the amount of pollution in Houston - which now rivals Los Angeles for the dubious honor of the metro area with the worst pollution.
At the same time, the commission voted to make 86 of the state's 254 counties eligible for a 75-mph speed limit that would apply to cars, but not to trucks. The night speed limit will stay at 65 mph.
The 55-mph speed limit will be in effect as soon as the signs are changed. There are more than 4,000 speed limit signs on state-maintained highways in the Houston area that need to be replaced with the new lower limit. Cities and counties will be responsible for changing their speed limit signs, as well.
The 75-mph limit, authorized in legislation sponsored by state Rep. Pete Gallego, will not be adopted on a given road until traffic and engineering studies have shown that the higher speeds will be safe.