Dash keeps you safe and efficient on the road (pictures)

Dash is an Android app that connects with your car with a tiny piece of hardware to get data on your car's miles-per-gallon fuel efficiency, and your personal driving habits.

To gather that information, Dash connects with a onboard diagnostic (OBD) transmitter, a small device that plugs into a dedicated OBD port in your car and uses Bluetooth to send data to your phone.

The main screen, shown here, displays your Dash score and your most recent trip.

Read the full review of Dash for Android.

Every time you start your car, drive around, park, and turn off your car, Dash counts that as a trip.

When you've finished a trip, you get a handy breakdown of your approximate starting and ending points, the total distance you drove, how long it took you, the amount of fuel you used measured in dollars (not in gallons or liters), and your average miles per gallon. You'll also see your Dash score.

Read the full review of Dash for Android.

For each trip, you get a Dash score, which is a rating of how many safe and efficient driving behaviors you practice, including sticking close to the speed limit, driving during safe weather conditions, and not using your phone while behind the wheel.

It's a scale from 1 to 100, and the higher the number, the better.

Read the full review of Dash for Android.

Dash can help you understand what's wrong with your car when the sometimes scary, often ambiguous check-engine light illuminates. If that happens, Dash sends you an alert with a description of what's wrong, an estimate of the cost of the repair, and information about nearby shops that might be able to help.

Read the full review of Dash for Android.

Dash has a social aspect to it, in which you can compare your scores and trips against you friends, but only if they are using the app. The idea is to see who's really the best driver among your friends.

Read the full review of Dash for Android.

You can jump to other features in the app, including your car's profile and a map of where you parked last, from the sidebar menu.

Read the full review of Dash for Android.

Another helpful feature in Dash is a gas station search, which shows nearby stations and the price per gallon for unleaded gas.

Read the full review of Dash for Android.

You personal profile shows your average Dash score, and total miles you've driven with the app.

Read the full review of Dash for Android.