Note: This article was written by Taylor Ruble, PE, RSP1 Manager, Office of Traffic Safety, INDOT.
Some crash data analysis requires access to the officer-prepared narrative and collision diagram. These documents often contain Personally Identifiable Information, and most users cannot access them; they are not included in AASHTOWare Safety. However, narratives and diagrams can help with many traffic safety processes. Follow the process below to obtain access to narratives and diagrams.
ARIES Database Access for Government Employees
Crash reports in Indiana are required to be stored in the ARIES database managed by LexisNexus. This database can be accessed here. https://ariesportal.com/Account/Login.
Only government employees may request access to the database. Government employees should contact the INDOT Manager of Traffic Safety to request access.
Once a government employee has access to the database, they can look up any crash record by searching for the Master Record Number in the ARIES database. Or, the user may click the Full Report button within the crash report flyout in AASHTOWare Safety to jump straight to the crash report in ARIES.
Requesting Access – Non-Government Employees
Non-government employees cannot gain access to the ARIES database through INDOT. If narratives and/or diagrams are needed to assist with an engineering study of a location, the requestor should contact the project manager at the government agency sponsoring the project or study to request redacted narratives and/or diagrams.
Redacting and accessing narratives and diagrams is time-consuming, so they can be provided only for a small number of crashes, not an entire area. The requestor should pre-filter the data to the location of interest and only request narratives or diagrams when additional information is needed to make a decision.
For INDOT sponsored projects, the INDOT project manager should contact the Manager of the Office of Traffic Safety or the District Traffic Engineer with crash data requests.
NOTE: Narratives and diagrams will ONLY be provided for government-sponsored work and not for general inquiries. Route all legal requests for crash data access to the Indiana State Police, who own the crash database.