[DjAlamose]

As a previous driver I can say that Driving should be more of an instinct than a controlled action. Once you have the motions down for controlling the robot, then you really shouldn't have to think about what you are doing. It should come as a natural reaction. Along with this comes the need to know the rules because this year only the drivers and HP are allowed to talk to the refs at the end of the match about penalties and warnings. It is always good to have someone on the drive team that knows the rules besides the coach.


My suggestions for picking a driver:
1) Get a list of every one interested in the position
2) Take last year’s bot (or an rc car of some kind) and set up an obstacle course with cones.
3) Have everyone drive the course and keep a record of times.

For scoring, DO NOT ONLY LOOK AT THE TIME! Any person can get something done fast, but to do it right, that takes skill. Look for fluid motion of the robot, good control, wise decisions (such as on our course this year there was a section that you got through faster if you went backwards through it, only one person did this) and then factor in speed. With practice anyone can learn to drive a robot fast but the key ingredient is a person with good control.

Another factor that I would take into consideration is the person's personality. If they are unreliable, then obviously no. A driver not only sells your robot by driving it, but they sell your team by representing it.