It's time the railway industry stopped batting off responsibility for safety and started to give it the priority which can prevent tragedies like this

Jane Rogerson, car driver

The driver of the car was Jane Rogerson, Mr Thomson's partner.

Miss Rogerson said she was determined to do all she could to ensure the crossing was improved to prevent any future fatalities.

Railtrack Scotland said it had received Sheriff Dunlop's recommendations.

It added it was considering his conclusions and expects to make a full statement later on Monday.

Sheriff Dunlop said that although there was one sign and a small warning light, it was positioned away from the driver-side controls at a point where it was difficult to see on approach from the A9 road.

The sheriff said drivers were not warned that the barrier could go up if someone pushed a button even if a train was coming.

He added: "There is a risk that they (drivers) will associate the raising of the barrier with a signal that it is safe to proceed across the level crossing.

Severe brain damage

"In my view the critical failing of the level crossing is that the arrangements do not ensure that the instructions for its safe operation are clearly brought home to users."

The fatal accident inquiry at Perth Sheriff Court last month heard how Mr Thomson had been killed while he was travelling home from watching a football match in Huntly, Aberdeenshire.

He was in the car with Miss Rogerson, 35, and a friend's three-year-old daughter who was severely brain damaged in the incident.

The driver of the car said safety should be a priority

The child's parents were following in their car and saw the impact.

Commenting on the sheriff's conclusions, Miss Rogerson said: "There were three previous near misses at this crossing and this was an accident waiting to happen.

"Had Railtrack looked properly at the safety of this crossing this accident would almost certainly have been prevented."

She added: "It's time the railway industry stopped batting off responsibility for safety and started to give it the priority which can prevent tragedies like this."

Her solicitor, Andrew Pollock, of Glasgow-based Peacock Johnston, added: "The sheriff's decision appears to confirm what we have always maintained.

"A driver who is unfamiliar with this unique crossing might well think that if the barrier could be raised, it was safe to cross, and Jane Rogerson was no different.

"We hope the sheriff's decision makes changes more likely so that this does not happen again."