When a pilot gets a license, a big FAA computer in Oklahoma City gets notified. Whether you're tracking down broken planes, lost pilots or drunk drivers, there are dozens of databases to help you. Some of the best come from the federal government. The FAA keeps track of pilots and planes. State DOTs usually analyze accident records so they know where to make highway safety improvements.
County courthouses keep track of speeding tickets.
Local highway planners keep databases on which roads have the most traffic. It's probably worth noting that FAA databases are notoriously incomplete. By themselves, these databases may not yield great stories. In fact, you have to be careful with them so you don't paint a misleading picture. But the databases can steer you to the people who have been in the worst accidents or received the most parking tickets.