I tried this thermal camera to make my nighttime driving safer — and it's a game changer

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

I consider myself a confident driver, finding very little challenge driving the latest EVs. However, I’m not getting younger and I can tell that my vision isn’t quite as good as it used to be. That’s why I’ve been using a thermal camera made specifically for cars to make night time driving safer for me.

I’ve been testing out thermal cameras for phones and continually finding uses for them, like using them to uncover hidden dangers around my home and spotting drones in the night sky. The Thermal Master NV300 MAX uses the same tech I’ve found in the other thermal cameras for phones that I’ve used, but it’s specifically tuned to detect hidden dangers you might not see while driving.

After using it for a couple weeks with my car, I’m convinced that car makers need to copy this technology and incorporate it somehow into future vehicles due to how it can detect heat signatures — like people on the road and other critters.

A dash camera with predator vision

First of all, the Thermal Master NV300 MAX is one of those specialty gadgets that requires elbow grease to install properly on a car — so if you don’t have the patience or skills, I’d suggest getting it done professionally. There are three main components to the entire system: the thermal imaging camera, companion display, and power supply. Even though the company touts installation in 5 minutes, it took me almost an hour to do on my own because the toughest part is snaking the cable through the hood of my car.

Once I finished it up, I was skeptical about the thermal camera module potentially coming off the roof of my car — but luckily the adhesive and strong magnets seem to keep it firmly in place. Through the display that I installed inside of my car, I can see the road ahead of me. The software analyzes the image to detect moving cars and the heat signatures from people and animals. Luckily there’s just about zero lag with its infrared thermal imaging, so I have yet to experience it failing to recognize the different heat signatures it sees.

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Thermal Master NV300 MAX Sample. — (Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

I think of the Thermal Master NV300 MAX much like any of the best dash cameras out there because it’s constantly recording, but it’s different in the sense that it makes driving at night safer for me.

That’s because it’s able to detect the pedestrians on the side of the road, which appear in red and yellow through the display — while everything else is in this monotone. I’ve had a fox cross in front of me, which I couldn’t see when I was turning, but the thermal camera was able to for me. You can see how it works in the gallery above.

Older cars such as mine benefit from this a lot more than newer ones, mainly because it lacks the sensors and radar that allow today’s cars to detect potential collisions. Since the Thermal Master NV300 MAX is scanning the footage to detect moving vehicles, it also notifies me when a car is pulling away from me while stopped.

Car makers need to iterate on the design

I can definitely see value in having a thermal camera integrated into a car, so while this is an excellent start with the Thermal Master NV300 MAX, there’s room for improvement.

First and foremost, it has such a narrow field of view that it can’t see what’s to the extreme left and right of my vision. I think a dual-camera setup would greatly benefit from this as a wide-angled camera could be used to alert the second camera (with the narrower field of view) for potential hazards.

Secondly, there’s got to be a better way to miniaturize the design of the thermal camera because it clearly stands out on the roof of my car. And while it’s remained there firmly in place through a couple of snow storms this past month, I’m not sure how well it’ll withstand a scorching summer.

Regardless, I think we should have more cars incorporate thermal cameras because of the increased safety they offer. I often think of all the deer just waiting on the sides of local roads at night waiting to cross. Thermal cameras such as this would be able to discern them faster than I could, so I’d like to see them somehow integrated into more cars.

Don’t get me wrong, today’s cars have many safety features that allow them to better anticipate potential collisions, but their current radar and sensor based systems could benefit from having thermal cameras such as this. While many cars are great at reacting to potential dangers, I think they can do a much better job at anticipating them ahead of time.

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John’s a senior editor covering phones for Tom’s Guide. He’s no stranger in this area having covered mobile phones and gadgets since 2008 when he started his career. On top of his editor duties, he’s a seasoned videographer being in front and behind the camera producing YouTube videos. Previously, he held editor roles with PhoneArena, Android Authority, Digital Trends, and SPY. Outside of tech, he enjoys producing mini documentaries and fun social clips for small businesses, enjoying the beach life at the Jersey Shore, and recently becoming a first time homeowner.