Read JABA CEO Marta Keane's latest in the Daily Progress about being mindful about ageism.

Ageism is so easy to miss. The funny card sent to those who are aging, supporting the stereotype we often have about what aging means. So I would like to point out that while your recent headline, "Elderly motorist crashes car into Charlottesville DMV," may have been accurate, it's important to be mindful of reenforcing ageist stereotypes.

Ask yourself: If the driver had been middle-age or in their 30s would the age group have been mentioned in the headline? Would you have written, "Millennial motorist crashes car into Charlottesville DMV"?

According to the National Safety Council, 22.5% of drivers 25 to 34 are involved in crashes, while only 5.6% of drivers 75 and older are involved in crashes — making them the safest drivers on the road. Those are facts, too. These facts defy our stereotypical thinking.

The unconscious bias of ageism showed through last year. There were articles about drivers hitting a column in the north wing of Barracks Road Shopping Center, crashing into a vacant meeting room at the DoubleTree hotel, crashing through the front of the Package Depot store in the Ivy Square Shopping Center, and crashing into a urology clinic on Pantops. However, the age of the drivers in those incidents was not emphasized or even mentioned in some stories.

While it's true that some individual older drivers present risks — just as its true some individual younger drivers present risks — assuming older drivers as an age group are a danger is ageist and ignores the facts. Thank you for providing an opportunity for us to educate on this stereotype.

Marta Keane

CEO, Jefferson Area Board for Aging