Appendix
Where
can you find this information?
Accident records are kept
at the local, state, and federal levels by a variety of agencies.
Federal data
At the federal level, an agency
at the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), maintains a national data system on fatal crashes, the
Fatality Analysis Reporting System or FARS, composed of fatal crash
reports from every state. FARS publishes summary fatal crash statistics for each
state and can be queried to find out local summary fatal crash statistics for
counties and some cities. FARS cannot compile fatal crash data for specific roads,
road segments, or intersections.
To obtain information from the FARS
database, contact the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, at (202)
366-4709. FARS information is also available at the NHTSA website: www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
State data
Most states
maintain a reasonably good database on fatal crash reports collected from the
various police agencies in the state. Some also include injury and other types
of crash data to varying degrees of completeness. The department that maintains
each state's accident database varies, but typically includes either the state
police or highway patrol, state Department of Transportation or public safety
agency. One easy way to determine where to go for this information is to contact
your state's Governor's Highway Safety Representative (GR), whose job it is to
keep abreast of the state's highway safety programs. The address and phone number
of each state GR are listed in the website of the National Association of Governors'
Highway Safety representatives—
www.naghsr.org.
Local data
The availability
of local accident data can vary from good to nonexistent, depending on the locality.
Many localities may not maintain easily accessible records. Begin your search
by talking to the local police agencies in your area. Some police agencies also
keep traffic citation records and other enforcement information in their jurisdiction.
Other Highway Records
Complaint
files, maintenance records, roadway video/photologs, highway construction information,
and traffic control device records are typically kept in your local county, municipality,
and state highway or public works departments. Again, start your search with your
local police agency and state GR's office.
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