Your opinion, of course. And I have mine.
Thru traffic having the right of way doesn't mean that EVERY thru traffic car can block out a merging car. Otherwise, those yellow diamond warning signs with the merging traffic symbol wouldn't even be there. So yes, someone has to give way, and since the mindset is that the merging car can back off and take the next gap--who is going to create that next gap?
Anyway, I have observed that during peak rush hour traffic to and from work, the traffic comes to a dead stop (read: ZERO mph) when thru traffic and merging traffic do not cooperate and traffic hits a point where someone must give way, but no one wants to let a merger into the lane. Once past the merge point, traffic resumes speed until the next merge point, where the ZERO mph issue occurs once again.
Now, if I'm already in the #2 or #3 lane--having successfully merged earlier--it's not a problem I have to deal with as far as merging goes, but the slowdown becomes everyone's problem! And ramp signals aren't even effective when thru traffic insists on closing the merge gap that the signal indicated was available when it turned green.
In contrast, when traffic cooperates such that merging traffic and thru traffic zipper in rather effectively, the vehicles merely slow down for just a bit (bmaybe from a free-flowing 65mph to about 45mph), but they don't slow down to ZERO mph. Following a bit further back under those traffic conditions (read: 2 to 3 second following distance and not so close that the vehicle in front's rear tires aren't even visible) means just a light usage of the brakes to decelerate, as opposed to having to slow down to a complete stop.
Personally, I'll take slow and go traffic, where the flow of traffic is constantly moving, over stop and go traffic which wastes more time and expensive gasoline than slow and go traffic.
