One of the best ways to improve your fuel economy is to change the way you drive. Speeding, accelerating and braking hard can deplete efficiency by 33 percent, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). How come? Well when you stop, start or accelerate, your car has to overcome inertia, which is the resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion. Overcoming inertia requires energy. When you're talking cars and energy, you're talking about fuel. You can use less energy to overcome inertia if you do it slowly:

1. You should accelerate slowly from stops, allowing the car's momentum to help it accelerate. What would make you more tired: pulling a heavy load slowly from a stop to an all-out run, or pulling the same load immediately to a sprint? In your car, you should accelerate slowly from stops, allowing the car's momentum to help it accelerate.
2. Say you're driving down the road and see a light up ahead turn from amber to red. Rather than keep your foot on the accelerator and brake at the last second, you should take your foot off the gas and slowly approach the light. Not only will coasting save gas, but you might not even have to come to a full stop before the light turns green again, meaning that your car will have to overcome much less inertia to get going.
3. The speed at which you drive on the motorway, where stopping and starting aren't likely to be a problem, also impacts your fuel efficiency. The EPA says that most cars run at maximum efficiency at 60 miles per hour, and every five mph over 60 decreases efficiency by 6 percent. So, on your next long trip, slow down.

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