The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) is set to accelerate the race to ensure Britain’s roads are ready for a driverless car revolution by the end of the decade.

The Government hopes to begin testing autonomous vehicles on British roads by 2019, before they operate freely from 2021, as part of a multibillion pound plan to build an economy fit for the future.

The non-ministerial department plans to use an industry competition to overhaul motorways and roads so that they can be shared by traditional vehicles as well as a new breed of internet-connected autonomous vehicles.