avoid hitting the ESTOP in competition!

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by lineskier

again i'm not sure what consists of a safety hazard...

<G29> has you covered:

Originally Posted by G29

If a ROBOT becomes unsafe (e.g. the ROBOT begins to smoke, the battery falls out, etc.)...

If your robot is out of your control (in whole or in part--if your arm's potentiometer fails and it starts flailing around), I'd say that counts as well.

[Mark McLeod]

Yours' is a good caution to teams that using the eStop is very serious this year.

At NJ the head ref emphasized at the drivers meeting that the eSTOP will draw a red card unless it's obvious to the refs that the robot is in an emergency situation.
They are watching the robots and cannot tell if your driver controls are not working (and non-working controls do not necessarily constitute an emergency).

Request permission/guidance from a nearby ref before hitting the eSTOP unless the robot is obviously in danger of an electrical fire, then stand in the red box after the match to explain to the head ref the circumstances of your eStop. Pleading your case for legal use of the eStop is probably the best course of action.