Use the center lane people!

Ok, so I'm in the mood to rant a bit.  I am from the south and we have some different habits when to comes to things like driving.  I have noticed that people up here north of the Mason Dixon line do not utilize the turning lane the same way that people do in the south.  I was taught that when turning left out of say a gas station, that if the traffic that is going the same way you are turning doesn't look like it will open up to you in the next few seconds; then it is appropriate to pull into the center lane and either wait or use it to speed up to the flow of traffic so that you can then merge into said flow.  But in the 3 1/2 years that I've lived in PA I have had many encounters where people in the same situation just pull out and cut you off.  It happened to me twice today on my way home!

I remember after I had been here a few weeks, my colleague Doug and I went to this great place called Wawa and I drove.  As we were leaving this same situation came up and I instinctively took the middle lane.  I wish that I had a video camera on in the car because Doug was fairly scared at the move we were making.  My memory is failing me a bit but I think the exchange went something like this.

Doug: "What are you doing?!?!"

Me: "I'm taking the center lane."

Doug: "Why"

Me: "It's what we're taught to do so that way we don't have to dart in traffic and use our car as a weapon."

Doug: "We never learned that one."

Me: "Well maybe you should."

Luckily I don't think Doug has held this encounter against me.  But I still don't understand the thinking behind not putting this move in your driving repitore.