G&J Pepsi Reduces Severe Speeding Violations 82% with Netradyne

Company Overview

G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers was founded in 1925 when Nell Gross and Esther Jarson convinced their partners, Walter Gross and Isaac Jarson, to buy a small water company in Cincinnati. Today, it operates as the largest family-owned independent Pepsi bottler in the United States. With approximately 1,900 employees, 14 production and distribution facilities across 61 counties in Ohio and Kentucky, and a portfolio of 600+ SKUs across 30+ beverage brands, G&J Pepsi serves a population of more than 4 million people.

Today, G&J Pepsi operates a fleet of approximately 425 vehicles traveling nearly 7 million miles annually. The company manages both local delivery and long-haul routes, supporting a large-scale beverage distribution network across its service territory in Eastern Kentucky and Southern Ohio.

Challenge

For many years, G&J Pepsi managed its fleet operations through manual processes. As the fleet continued to grow, the company sought to improve visibility, enhance regulatory compliance, and reduce operational risk by partnering with Netradyne to implement advanced fleet safety and video telematics technology.

The primary objective was to strengthen the company's safety program by gaining greater insight into driver behavior and proactively addressing high-risk activities, including distracted driving, seat belt compliance, and stop sign and traffic signal violations. This data-driven approach enabled more effective coaching and reinforced safe driving habits across the organization.

Liability exposure was also a significant concern. A single motor vehicle incident can result in substantial litigation costs and settlements. Without objective video evidence, G&J Pepsi had limited ability to verify events, defend its drivers, or accurately determine the cause of an incident.

To address these challenges, G&J Pepsi implemented Netradyne to identify and correct risky driving behaviors before they resulted in accidents, improve driver coaching and accountability, reduce liability exposure, and foster a proactive, safety-first culture throughout the fleet.

"Being able to identify distracted driving, phone use, and seatbelt violations before they result in an incident is absolutely essential in our industry right now."
— Stephenie Barnes, Director of Fleet Operations

Solution

G&J Pepsi began deployment with a pilot program at its Maysville, Kentucky location. The facility's newer workforce meant the platform could be introduced without competing against established practices, providing immediate visibility into driver behaviors instead of manual video review. Encouraged by the pilot's success, G&J Pepsi expanded the platform to eight additional locations.

Scaling the program required managers to embrace a more data-driven approach to driver coaching. According to Barnes, securing management buy-in and establishing consistent coaching practices focused on driver behavior took several months. Once managers began leveraging the data consistently, measurable improvements in driver behavior quickly followed.

To increase driver engagement, G&J Pepsi introduced a three-tier rewards program tied to Netradyne’s GreenZone® Score, a safety metric that measures driving behaviors including seatbelt compliance, distracted driving, and traffic violations.  Drivers earned points based on their GreenZone® Score, which could be redeemed for a variety of high-value rewards, including branded jackets, gift cards, and outdoor grills. This incentive program reinforced safe driving behaviors by recognizing and rewarding drivers who consistently demonstrated strong safety performance.  The positive recognition-based approach created friendly competition while reinforcing safer driving behaviors.

The company also proactively engaged representatives at its four unionized facilities. Rather than viewing the technology as a monitoring tool, G&J Pepsi emphasized how it  protects drivers from false claims and provides objective evidence when incidents occurred. This transparency, combined with the rewards program, helped transform skepticism into adoption.

The platform's video capability provided critical protection for drivers. "Drivers can indicate when something dangerous happens, like another driver stopping abruptly or cutting them off. This allows them to show they weren't responsible for the incident, which protects them from liability," explains Barnes.  

This dual benefit—protecting the company while protecting drivers—became a key message in gaining driver and union buy-in.

Beyond safety improvements, the platform streamlined fleet operations. Electronic DVIRs replaced paper-based inspections, improving compliance and reducing lost records.

Real-time fault code visibility improved maintenance planning and vehicle uptime. Managers also gained insight into idle time and fuel consumption across all nine locations, creating opportunities for coaching and fuel efficiency improvements. And real-time fleet tracking increased on-time performance while reducing risk.  

Utilizing Netradyne’s AI-powered video safety camera serving as its FMCSA-registered Electronic Logging Device (ELD) enabled G&J Pepsi to retire its JJ Keller system, reducing complexity, costs, and in-cab devices.  

"Definitely a time saving measure with the DVIR piece. We're saving about 10 hours a week, which lets managers spend more time coaching drivers and focusing on strategic initiatives."
— Stephenie Barnes, Director of Fleet Operations

To support long-term success, G&J Pepsi incorporated the platform into driver onboarding and established training for drivers, managers, and leadership teams. Managers further improved coaching efficiency by addressing recurring trends in group coaching sessions rather than treating each event individually.

Barnes believes the platform's recognition-based coaching model has been a key driver of adoption and results across the organization.

"The system is very beneficial for safety, operations, and compliance. I think it is a better tool than some of the other software I've seen, primarily because of the positive recognition-based coaching approach combined with the fleet management capabilities."
— Stephenie Barnes, Director of Fleet Operations

Results

Within six months of full deployment, G&J Pepsi achieved measurable improvements in driver safety, operational efficiency, and fleet performance. Drivers became more engaged in managing their performance, managers coached using objective data, and the company gained faster access to video evidence when responding to incidents and claims.

Additionally, fleet operations were optimized, with significant improvements in time savings, productivity and compliance.  

With Netradyne, manual processes for maintenance, DVIRs, and HOS compliance were replaced with automated workflows and a unified dashboard for safety and fleet management.

Key results:

• 82% decrease in severe speeding violations since June 2025
• 74% decrease in severe stop sign violations since June 2025
• 56% decrease in low-impact alerts since June 2025
• 44% decrease in severe alerts since June 2025
• 25% reduction in preventable incidents across the fleet
• Average GreenZone® Score increased to 916 across all drivers
• Approximately 10 administrative hours per week saved via optimized fleet tracking, maintenance, fuel, and compliance processes

Perhaps most importantly, driver perception shifted. Employees who initially resisted the cameras became advocates after experiencing the benefits of the recognition program and seeing how video evidence could protect them.

The Maysville pilot location helped build momentum across the organization. Drivers who experienced the program firsthand communicated its value to colleagues at other locations, accelerating adoption and reinforcing that the platform existed to support and protect drivers—not simply monitor them.

"The change management piece is getting in front of it, telling them what it is, how it's going to work, how it's going to benefit them, not only the company, but how it's going to benefit them. That was the key to our success."
—Stephenie Barnes, Director of Fleet Operations

Next Steps

G&J Pepsi continues expanding its use of the Netradyne platform to improve fuel efficiency, reduce idle time, and enhance operational performance across all nine locations.

With strong driver adoption, union alignment, and an established safety program that rewards safe, fuel-efficient driving, the company is positioned to continue reducing risk while improving efficiency across its fleet.

The company remains focused on refining location-specific performance initiatives while maintaining consistent safety standards and driver recognition programs across the organization. With strong organizational alignment around driver-first safety and Netradyne's continuous platform improvements, G&J Pepsi is positioned to continue reducing risk and improving operational efficiency. The partnership has created a foundation for lasting safety culture change that benefits drivers, customers, and the business alike.