Network Rail was accused last night of shirking its safety responsibilities after calling for questions on level crossings to be included in the driving test.
One campaigner said the company had adopted an “anything but barriers” stance.
A woman left in a coma after her car collided with a train at an ungated junction in Caithness said there was no substitute for investing millions of pounds in measures to prevent crashes.
Network Rail’s chief executive has accused motorists of “gambling” at level crossings and “playing Russian roulette” with 200-tonne trains.
Iain Coucher wants learner drivers to be made aware of the dangers of crossings.
Last year, 13 people died in collisions between vehicles and trains.
Among them were Inverness couple Angus and Margaret Mackay and Mr Mackay’s brother, Donald, of Forse House, Latheron, who were killed on September 29 when a train hit their car at an ungated crossing at Halkirk in Caithness.
Sarah Jappy suffered multiple injuries and was in a coma for two months after a collision at the same crossing.
She is now seeking £500,000 damages from Network Rail.
Mr Coucher insisted the company’s own figures showed about 95% of incidents at level crossings were caused by misuse or error by motorists or pedestrians.
He said: “Tragically, some motorists lose their lives gambling at level crossings by running red lights or dodging around barriers. I’m confident that lives will be saved if motorists learn how to safely use level crossings from the day they pass their test.”
Network Rail says it would cost about £1million to instal barriers at a single open crossing.
Highlands and Islands MSP Dave Thompson, who is leading a campaign for barriers at 21 ungated crossings in the Highlands, accused the company of having “a defiant position of anything but barriers”.
He said: “The only way to deal with open crossings is to have barriers on them.
“Education and enforcement is of course important to stop drivers putting their own lives and those of rail users at risk by ignoring signals to stop.
“But often the low winter sun seen in the north of Scotland can obscure signals and vehicles can be driven across rail lines because the driver is ignorant of any warning.
“Sadly, Network Rail seems to have an ‘anything but barriers’ view of what is needed to improve safety on our open crossings, despite the regular occurrence of incidents on the 21 ungated crossings in the Highlands.”
A survey carried out by the SNP MSP revealed hundreds of people in the region had either been involved in an incident or knew others who had been involved in an accident or near-collision.
Ms Jappy, 33, of Glen Cottage, Reay, said: “Barriers are the only option because drivers can’t always see the red lights flashing. If the lights can’t be seen, that is down to Network Rail, not the driving test.”
There were 14 collisions between vehicles and trains in the UK in 2009, resulting in 13 deaths, while 140 near-collisions were reported.
A Network Rail spokesman said last night: “Our AOCL (automatic open crossing, locally monitored) crossings are safe to use when used correctly.
“They are located on quiet rural routes, with few trains and low road vehicle movements, and the Office for Rail Regulation is satisfied that they meet the standards set within the guidelines which govern level crossings. Any additional safety measures which individual politicians wish to see put in place at level crossings over and above the standards set by the independent safety regulator would need to be funded by local or central government.”