For the record, I am "that guy" who runs all the way down to the end of the closed lane before merging over. Except I don't consider it an asshole move because as OP points out, I'm making the best use of the road ahead (while allowing fewer people to merge ahead of me)
In interstate travel I have noticed the increasing frequency of the "two trucks" maneuver, in which a big rig driven by someone philosophically opposed to your habit will drive in the "closed ahead" lane directly alongside another big rig in the "open but crawling" lane. Once the two trucks near the point of obstruction, the "open" driver is happy to let the "closed" one merge in, and there is no merging at the point of obstruction, which is both a safety and traffic-flow win.
I contend that the two truckers have done more to speed actual traffic flow (i.e. from a point before the obstacle to a point after it) than any number of assholes have. While at the beginning of the maneuver there is a solid line of fuming assholes behind the "closed" truck, by the time the obstacle has been reached all fuming asshole traffic has completely merged behind the "open" truck. Since it is only merging at the point of obstruction that slows traffic more than the obstruction itself already has, this is a net win.
Of course this maneuver must be repeated by successive pairs of truckers, and occasionally an asshole will "win" by racing forward between pairs, but that's minor.
In interstate travel I have noticed the increasing frequency of the "two trucks" maneuver, in which a big rig driven by someone philosophically opposed to your habit will drive in the "closed ahead" lane directly alongside another big rig in the "open but crawling" lane. Once the two trucks near the point of obstruction, the "open" driver is happy to let the "closed" one merge in, and there is no merging at the point of obstruction, which is both a safety and traffic-flow win.
I contend that the two truckers have done more to speed actual traffic flow (i.e. from a point before the obstacle to a point after it) than any number of assholes have. While at the beginning of the maneuver there is a solid line of fuming assholes behind the "closed" truck, by the time the obstacle has been reached all fuming asshole traffic has completely merged behind the "open" truck. Since it is only merging at the point of obstruction that slows traffic more than the obstruction itself already has, this is a net win.
Of course this maneuver must be repeated by successive pairs of truckers, and occasionally an asshole will "win" by racing forward between pairs, but that's minor.