[Al Skierkiewicz]

Danny,
From what you describe, they are back feeding the Victors with 12 volts and I would agree that is a very bad idea. Although the Victors are back driven all the time when the robot is moving, the danger of slipping with battery terminals or getting across the input, backwards, presents the possibility of some really costly errors.
I know that this isn't a non cost alternative, but we use Anderson Power Locks on most of our motors. That way we can easily disconnect a motor from all electrical systems on the robot. We have modified a battery operated drill with Power Lock connectors so that we can provide variable voltage and reversing through the drill switches. This little setup also allows us to trouble shoot wiring. With an adapter we can power anything on the robot with confidance.