Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and Ford Motor Co. didn't need an exhibit booth to have a major presence at the Society of Automotive Engineers' 2001 World Congress in early March. The recent high-profile recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires mounted mostly on Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicles has had a direct impact on exhibitors' stands with a big jump in the number of tire pressure monitoring devices on display, according to a story by Rene Wisely in the Detroit News. "It's amazing how many people are jumping in to the business," Ann Carver, an electronic product engineer at Schrader Electronics, told the News. The Northern Ireland-based company is considered a leading developer of tire monitoring devices. Since 1991, Schrader Electronics has produced sensors that detect low pressure in tires and transmit the information to drivers. Attached to the valve on each tire, the sensors have become standard equipment on many luxury cars -- including the Cadillac Seville, Chevrolet Corvette, and the Renault Laguna II and the Peugeot 607 in Europe. German auto parts giant Siemens Automotive gave automakers a peek at its latest tire-pressure monitoring device that will debut on the 2002 Ford Explorer. It measures tire pressure, the temperature inside the tire, and a tire's acceleration through rotation speed. Siemens also showed sensing devices that indicate which tire is low, provide audible warning alarms when pressure is so low that a blowout is imminent, and other tire pressure sensors that work in tandem with a remote keyless entry system. Industry experts said they expect to see even more tire pressure monitoring devices at next year's show. The catalyst behind the boom in tire-pressure monitoring devices is pending U.S. legislation known as the "Tread Act." Enacted in the wake of the Firestone tire recall last year, the law will make it mandatory for all newly launched vehicles beginning in 2003 to have a tire-pressure monitoring system. About 30 SAE members met with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials in Troy in early March to give their input into how detailed the pressure systems must be starting with 2003 model vehicles. NHTSA is writing rules that will detail how automakers must comply with the new law. The rising cost of gasoline and efforts to improve fuel economy are serving as another impetus to offer tire pressure monitoring devices, according to industry analysts.