I think it very much depends on where you live as to whether crossings are unusual or not.
A quick google suggests 6,300 crossings in the UK and 250,000 miles of roads - a crossing for every 40 miles of road so everyone should be very familiar with them. I'll bet that isn't the case for the vast majority of motorists though. I can drive all year without crossing a railway, and I would if I didn't regularly choose a route which includes one. It adds 10mins to my journey but … I might get to see a train! And it has a wicked right-left which requires pretty much all the tools in my box to get through swiftly and smoothly (trail braking while heel'n'toeing, roll oversteer etc.)
A green light would be reassuring - I always look left and right to check for trains anyway but sighting isn't great - the absence of red/amber lights does not tell me its safe to cross, it just tells me there are no red/amber lights lit. Whether thats because there are no trains coming, or signal failure, or some scrote has nicked the cabling … who knows?