A materials handling vehicle is provided comprising: a frame; wheels supported on the frame; a traction motor coupled to one of the wheels to effect rotation of the one wheel; a speed control element operable by an operator to define a speed control signal corresponding to a desired speed of the traction motor; a system associated with a steerable wheel to effect angular movement of the steerable wheel; and control apparatus coupled to the speed control element to receive the speed control signal, and coupled to the traction motor to generate a drive signal to the traction motor in response to the speed control signal to control the operation of the traction motor. The control apparatus may determine an acceleration value for the traction motor based on at least one of an angular position of the steerable wheel, a speed of the traction motor and a current position of the speed control element as defined by the speed control signal.