Polite drivers would be faster

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060524093736.htm

"If All Drivers Were Polite, They Would Get Where They're Going Faster"
Included in the article is the point that letting people merge helps traffic flow, if you don't have to slow down to much, because the person merging is able to enter traffic at a higher speed. Shouldn't be surprising, but I've actually seen AJC vents criticizing mergers who slow way down before merging. Well, since people on Atlanta highways usually tail gate and try to keep people from merging in front of them, what do they expect the merger to do if they can't get into traffic right away?
Now, this is not inevitable human nature. People learn to be more or less competitive from their culture. Eg., driving in Atlanta, Georgia is vastly different from driving in Birmingham, Alabama. In Birmingham, it is the norm for drivers to let in other people who need to merge or change lanes. I don't know how to change Atlanta culture, but maybe somebody else can figure it out. That would solve a lot of problems that people complain about in other drivers (such as me) who are reacting to the prevailing conditions. Eg., in Atlanta, if I'm going to have to make a left turn, I get in the left lane way before my turn, in order to make sure I can make my turn. When I first moved here, I missed several left turns because people wouldn't let me over. If people were more polite, I would wait until I was closer to my turn to move into the left lane.