diff --git a/libraries/ms-common/src/x86/can_hw.c b/libraries/ms-common/src/x86/can_hw.c
index 0be2e2228..91babc01c 100644
--- a/libraries/ms-common/src/x86/can_hw.c
+++ b/libraries/ms-common/src/x86/can_hw.c
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@
 
 #define CAN_HW_MAX_FILTERS 14
 #define CAN_HW_TX_FIFO_LEN 8
-// Check for thread exit once every 10ms
-#define CAN_HW_THREAD_EXIT_PERIOD_US 10000
+// Check for thread exit once every 100ms
+#define CAN_HW_THREAD_EXIT_PERIOD_US 100000
 
 typedef struct CanHwEventHandler {
   CanHwEventHandlerCb callback;
@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ static void *prv_rx_thread(void *arg) {
 
     select(s_socket_data.can_fd + 1, &input_fds, NULL, NULL, &timeout);
 
+    timeout.tv_usec = CAN_HW_THREAD_EXIT_PERIOD_US;
+
     if (FD_ISSET(s_socket_data.can_fd, &input_fds)) {
       int bytes =
           read(s_socket_data.can_fd, &s_socket_data.rx_frame, sizeof(s_socket_data.rx_frame));
@@ -100,9 +102,8 @@ static void *prv_rx_thread(void *arg) {
         s_socket_data.handlers[CAN_HW_EVENT_MSG_RX].callback(
             s_socket_data.handlers[CAN_HW_EVENT_TX_READY].context);
       }
+      x86_interrupt_wake();  // just to make sure wait() wakes up to process the message
 
-      // Wakes the main thread
-      x86_interrupt_wake();
       // Limit how often we can receive messages to simulate bus speed
       usleep(s_socket_data.delay_us);
     }
@@ -124,7 +125,7 @@ static void *prv_tx_thread(void *arg) {
   while (pthread_mutex_trylock(&s_keep_alive) != 0) {
     // Wait until the producer has created an item
     sem_wait(&s_tx_sem);
-    x86_interrupt_wake();
+
     fifo_pop(&s_socket_data.tx_fifo, &frame);
     int bytes = write(s_socket_data.can_fd, &frame, sizeof(frame));
 
@@ -157,6 +158,7 @@ StatusCode can_hw_init(const CanHwSettings *settings) {
     sem_post(&s_tx_sem);
 
     sem_destroy(&s_tx_sem);
+
     pthread_join(s_tx_pthread_id, NULL);
   }
 
@@ -299,6 +301,7 @@ StatusCode can_hw_transmit(uint32_t id, bool extended, const uint8_t *data, size
     if (filter_match && s_socket_data.handlers[CAN_HW_EVENT_MSG_RX].callback != NULL) {
       s_socket_data.handlers[CAN_HW_EVENT_MSG_RX].callback(
           s_socket_data.handlers[CAN_HW_EVENT_TX_READY].context);
+      x86_interrupt_wake();
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/libraries/ms-common/src/x86/wait.c b/libraries/ms-common/src/x86/wait.c
index 0755c93fb..c45cbecf8 100644
--- a/libraries/ms-common/src/x86/wait.c
+++ b/libraries/ms-common/src/x86/wait.c
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 #include <signal.h>
 
 void wait(void) {
-  sigset_t s_wait_sigset;
+  sigset_t wait_sigset;
 
-  sigemptyset(&s_wait_sigset);
-  sigsuspend(&s_wait_sigset);
+  sigemptyset(&wait_sigset);
+  sigsuspend(&wait_sigset);
 }
diff --git a/libraries/ms-common/test/test_wait.c b/libraries/ms-common/test/test_wait.c
index 74a6ce74b..2174811f9 100644
--- a/libraries/ms-common/test/test_wait.c
+++ b/libraries/ms-common/test/test_wait.c
@@ -208,6 +208,11 @@ void test_wait_works_raw_x86(void) {
   TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(EXPECTED_TIMES_x86_CALLBACK_CALLED, s_num_times_x86_callback_called);
 }
 
+// Test that wait() wakes when we receive a CAN message at a time such that we can to process it.
+// This isn't perfect because x86 can_hw bypasses vcan in loopback mode, so it's not representative
+// of receiving a real external CAN message, but it's the best we can do from a unit test.
+// For this reason we don't count the number of wait cycles but just make sure that we wake up when
+// the RX event has been raised.
 void test_can_wake_works(void) {
   uint8_t num_wait_cycles_timer = 0;
 
@@ -217,17 +222,11 @@ void test_can_wake_works(void) {
 
   pthread_create(&can_send_thread, NULL, prv_can_tx, NULL);
   Event e = { 0 };
-  while (!s_can_received) {
+  while (!status_ok(event_process(&e))) {
     wait();
-    while (event_process(&e) != STATUS_CODE_OK) {
-    }
-    can_process_event(&e);
-
-    num_wait_cycles_timer++;
   }
+  can_process_event(&e);
+  TEST_ASSERT_TRUE(s_can_received);
 
   pthread_join(can_send_thread, NULL);
-
-  // we should only wait once
-  TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(EXPECTED_x86_INTERRUPT_CYCLES, num_wait_cycles_timer);
 }