The death of a woman on a “smart motorway” which had no hard shoulder is expected to reignite the debate about the safety of the new generation of roads.

The 62-year-old was a passenger in a vehicle that broke down on a stretch of the northbound M1, around one mile north of Woodall Services near Sheffield, on Sunday night.

Both she and the driver got out of the car at around 9.40pm, South Yorkshire Police said. But some 16 minutes later, a black Mercedes E-class hit their Nissan Qashqai, which then hit the victim, officers believe. A Peugeot 407 and a Volkswagen Golf were subsequently involved in collisions with both the Mercedes and each other.

Overhead signs with a red cross are supposed to warn vehicles against using the left-hand lane when a car has broken down or crashed on smart motorways. Police are understood to be looking at whether the signs were operating at the time of the accident or whether a driver ignored of missed the signal.

A 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and remains in police custody.

“Major safety concerns” have been raised over the controversial abolition of the hard shoulder on busy stretches of the nation’s motorways.