Traffic lights - are they any good?

On my way to work I have to turn right onto a busy dual carriageway. When I got there this a.m. and saw that the traffic lights were not working I steeled myself for a long wait. But actually I got through much quicker, and I couldn't see any large build up of traffic either. I've seen this happen before at Brian Bevan island in warrington - much quicker when the lights are out of order. Perhaps some kind of a crusade is in order? There are probably situations where lights are useful (blind corners? humpback bridges?) but I'm certainly going to write to my MP about this blight on our city streets.