Should a programmer be a driver too?

[DonRotolo]

Our lead programmer was the driver last year and this year; he is the best driver on the team. Last year, sometimes he would stop driving to think "gee, what in the code cause that behavior", but we cured him of that right quick. This year it is somewhat better, since we have others who can work on the code instead of the driver - it was a strain last year for sure when he was the 'only' one.

Similarly, our mechanical lead is also on the drive team. This has also worked out well, for the reasons others have stated above.

I certainly have my doubts, since not every student can pull this off, but there is considerable evidence that it is possible, usually with good results.

Don