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For the 1997 data year, UMTRI's Center for National Truck Statistics collected data on rear underride as part of its Trucks Involved in Fatal Accidents (TIFA) survey. Data collected included whether the truck had a rear underride guard, whether the striking vehicle underrode the truck, and how much underride occurred. A primary goal was to evaluate rear underride of straight trucks. Overall, 453 medium and heavy trucks were struck in the rear by a nontruck vehicle in a fatal crash in 1997. Some underride occurred in at least 272 (60.0%) of the rear-end crashes. For straight trucks, there was some underride in 77 (52.0%) of the crashes, no underride occurred in 43 (29.1%) of the fatal rear-end crashes, and underride could not be determined in the remaining 28 (18.9%) straight truck rear-end crashes. Despite the fact that three-fourths of tractor combinations had an underride guard on the trailer, underride was more common for tractor combinations.