Profession: former National Hockey League referee and author of The Final Call: Hockey Stories from a Legend in Stripes

Age: 58

Hometown: Sarnia, Ont.

Notable achievements: Joined NHL Officials Association on Sept. 1, 1973; officiated his first game Oct. 17, 1980 - Colorado Rockies vs. Minnesota North Stars; retired at the end of the 2009-2010 season; officiated 1,828 regular-season NHL games and 261 playoff games; 2007 Special Achievement award from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association

Currently: book tour continues across the United States

He was one of the most respected referees in the National Hockey League - quick-footed and decisive in his calls. And, of course, there was his famous head of hair, his always perfect hair. But after three decades as an official, Kerry Fraser hung up his skates. Nowadays, off the ice and on the road, he takes life slower - driving a 2006 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab SLT pickup truck.

Why do you have a truck?

I'd always wanted a truck. I felt at that time and that space in life I really wanted to slow down.

My wife Kathy bought me the Dakota quad cab for my birthday in 2006 and I loved the truck, but not near as much as Kathy. I was so touched by the gift when she gave it to me as I always wanted a truck. The truth be known, I enjoy driving my truck far more than the loss of my friend "Benny"!

"Benny" is the nickname of your other car. What happened to it?

My baby, 20-year-old Kara Marie Fraser, has my other baby, a 2000 Mercedes Benz E320 at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Md. It is one of the safest vehicles on the road and Kathy and I want Kara to be protected even though it's not typically the kind of vehicle that college kids drive around campus in. I love her infinitely more than my white, mint-condition Benz, which she affectionately calls "Benny."

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What does a Dakota say about you?

The car can reflect your mood and your space and place in life. Right now, my place is slow down with a truck as opposed to the panache and flash of the E320.

As we get older, I think things come full circle. Now I want to simplify my life. I'm more of a gentleman farmer. We have a 34-foot sailboat and I was always hauling things whether it was sails or gear. From the perspective of raising seven kids there's always something that I'm hauling.

Did you teach your kids to drive?

Yes, I did. I see the road like I see the ice, which is in advance of things happening.

I see things very quickly. … I learned watching Wayne Gretzky in the early 1980s when I first arrived on the scene in the NHL. He had the uncanny awareness of knowing not just where things were in the moment but where things would be in the future. I'm talking about his teammates - to throw a blind pass right onto their stick as they were moving at full speed and they would be coming from behind him.

In observing that I came up with a philosophy that I implemented in my positioning and awareness on the ice and I've implemented it in all things - it's rapid eye movement, looking quickly ahead and around so you pick up everything that's going on ahead and behind - you check your rear-view mirrors, side-view mirrors and ahead.

What was your first car?

It was a '65 Pontiac Parisienne convertible. It was a boat. It was candy apple red with a black convertible top. It had a rear-view mirror that spanned almost across the entire front windshield. It had a reverb radio sound system that was a pleasure to listen to. I was 17 when I bought the car - I guess I thought I was pretty hot stuff!

Prior to that I drove my dad's Thunderbird, again candy apple red with a black vinyl top, but it had the suicide doors on it. When I was away playing junior hockey in Collingwood occasionally I would get to take dad's car back when I had been home. That was a pleasure to drive.

Do you prefer driving or flying?

There's a chapter in my book titled NHL - which equals No Home Life.

It's a funny chapter because it details the 150,000 miles that I would travel every year, most of it in the air. One of the reasons we relocated to south New Jersey was because of ease of travel. I was able to drive to places. The Philadelphia Flyers were 25 minutes from my house, the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, New York Islanders were close. I drove to Pittsburgh, which was a four-and-a-half-hour drive and I could go to Boston which was about the same distance from our home. I was spending more time in the car as opposed to what I had done when I lived in Sarnia and had to fly out of Detroit. I would put an easy 12,000-15,000 miles just for going back and forth to games on my Mercedes.

What else have you owned?

We had a Lincoln Continental, a Town and Country minivan - it was always hooked up with TVs and things for the kids. I had a heavy Chrysler LeBaron, Ford Taurus, a big '98 Oldsmobile, a Lincoln Mark V, a Cougar five-speed. ...

At one point, I had a fleet of cars when the kids became drivers. I had to spread it out into two policies. I felt like I had a car lot at one point - my life in the driveway.

Kathy has a Chrysler Pacifica and it's a heavy underpowered vehicle. It's like a boat. She absolutely goes crazy every time I tell her I can't stand this vehicle when I'm driving it. If you want and need to accelerate it's like the hamsters are doing overtime under the hood.

Do you prefer North American-made cars?

Whenever we can, it's important to support our workers. The automotive industry as we've seen, especially in the U.S. with the GM bailout and everybody struggling to stay afloat, I think it's important to support North American-made products.

The interview has been edited and condensed