Highway Lane Closures - Do You Merge at the Last Opportunity or Do You Merge as Soon as You Can After Seeing the Sign?

Many people would argue that drivers that merge at the last opportunity before the lane closure are committing a “Jerk Merge;” however, writer Tom Vanderbilt would disagree.  Vanderbilt’s book entitled:  Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About Us), argues that if drivers did not leave the soon-to-be-closed-lane until the very point that it actually closed then there would be an orderly and alternating merge that would be as much as 15% faster.  Furthermore, he argues that the queue of vehicles stretching back from the closed-lane-construction-site would be smaller. 

What do you think Michigan Drivers?  Is the last-opportunity-merge a better option for Michigan Road Construction sites and does it offer any safety advantages?