Canadian transportation groups hope a groundbreaking new study on trucker fatigue will not only save lives and reduce big rig collisions, but will also help solve the hours of service controversy north of the border.

According to the Calgary Herald, the study will look at the causes and warning signs of fatigue, and will also use scientific knowledge of circadian rhythms and sleep disorders to help truckers recognize when they're becoming too tired to get behind the wheel.
The study is being spearheaded by the Canadian Sleep Institute in Calgary along with partners Alberta Infrastructure, Transport Canada, Alberta Trucking Industry Safety Association and the Alberta Workers' Compensation Board.
Currently all Canadian truckers can drive 13 hours and then must rest for at least eight hours in a 24-hour period. However, Roger Clarke, executive director of highway safety for Alberta Infrastructure, told the paper that the current system is flawed because it's inflexible and doesn't take into account the varying ability of truckers to handle fatigue. Like the United States, Canada is embroiled in controversy over how best to reform the hours of service regulations.
"We have to be able to help drivers and companies to deal with fatigue," Clarke told the paper. "Monitoring and restricting hours of service is not the way to go, so we are trying something quite radical, quite new."
The first phase of the new pilot project will cost $250,000 and involves three trucking companies and one bus company, all based in Calgary.
The researchers hope to have a course in fatigue recognition and management ready for trucking firms by the summer. However, it will not be mandatory.
The province of Quebec and the United States highways department have also expressed interest in joining the study in the near future, the Herald said.