The present invention relates to the field of floor treatment machines for scrubbing, polishing, sanding or burnishing floors, and in particular machines in which one or more driven rotatable work heads (such as scrubbing brushes) are provided for agitating the floor surface. The disclosure provides a hand guided, walk-behind floor treatment machine comprising: a base portion provided with and supported by at least one rotatable work head for treating the floor, drive means for rotating the work head with respect to the base portion, guide wheel means for supporting the handle portion and/or base portion on the floor, the guide wheel means having a substantially transverse axis of rotation with respect to the base portion so as to permit machine travel over the floor in a working direction, a handle portion for steering or guiding the machine in the working direction of travel, a lower region of which handle portion is provided with an articulated joint arrangement which permits pivoting of the handle portion with respect to the base portion during machine operation, the handle portion lower region being connected to the guide wheel means so as to permit yaw steering by manipulation of an upper region of the handle, wherein a motor traction drive is provided for driving the guide wheel means so as to permit self-propulsion of the machine over the floor and a motor controller for controlling the operation of the motor traction drive. The motor controller permits the traction drive to be activated or de-activated. The motor controller may be configured to permit motor traction drive control independent of the operation of the work head drive means. The motor controller is configured to provide traction drive speed control. The motor controller is adapted to permit continuously variable speed control, and/or stepped incremental speed control, and/or the adoption of one of a plurality of discrete single speed settings. The motor controller may be configured to provide a user-selectable reverse drive mode of the guide wheel means so that the machine may be propelled backwards.