State inspection stickers on cars and trucks will be put in a new spot beginning Jan. 1.

The Virginia State Police announced that inspection stickers will be placed in the bottom left corner of windshields, when viewed from inside the vehicle.

Existing stickers, which are placed in the bottom center of windshields, are to remain in their current positions until a new inspection is done and the decal is replaced with one that expires in 2019.

State inspections stations started receiving notice of the change on Dec. 2.

State Police said the change is because crash avoidance systems in new vehicles use the center of the windshield, and placement of items in that area, including inspection stickers, would prevent the new technology from operating properly.

“The core mission of the Virginia Safety Inspection Program is to promote highway safety and the crash avoidance technology is another tool provided by manufacturers to ensure vehicles operated on the roadways are safe at all times,” said Capt. R.C. Maxey Jr., commander of the State Police safety division. “Therefore, we immediately began evaluating the situation and set forth to make the necessary changes to the Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Manual, which governs the placement of the safety inspection sticker on all vehicles.”

Other states already place inspection stickers on the lower left side of the windshield, officials said. — RONALD E. CARRINGTON