Motivation moves a person to action.

It involves the will to channel the psychological forces or energy in a particular direction and to use ability (skills) to achieve particular ends.

For example applying the skill of looking up ahead and scanning for hazards depends on the driver's motivation to choose to do so and this will be linked to their awareness of the possible risks or hazards that looking ahead may detect. The motivation behind a driver's decisions will be based on their awareness (knowledge) and their skills to respond to various traffic situations. This involves internalising the driving process and owning the decisions to drive appropriately.

This contrasts with the simpler example of motivation where a driver slows down if a police officer is in the vicinity. There is little internalising occurring.

In the case of a person driving for their employment, he or she may be motivated to override the need for safe driving behaviour in order to meet performance requirements in their work especially if there is an incentive for doing so. The issue for those attending driver training is around their motivation to change their driving behaviour. This needs to be driven internally rather than through factors such as enforcement.