Actually a third lane develops past the intersection, he just headed there. He drove through the big zebra-striped block in the picture.

OK I'll bite, what's SMIDGAF?

I think it's the right setup, actually, for dealing with right-turn-only lanes for cars. As a thru-going bike every right-going car is a potential right hook, I'd rather have my 'own' lane to their left.

No I got what you meant originally, and I disagree. The right turn lanes are very busy funnelling traffic onto the freeway, it is much safer to use the bike lane to the left. I bet only a handful of vehicles per week find themselves accidentally stuck in the right turn lane and illegally go straight, and almost all of those occasions drivers would act with caution, at least in case there might be a cop around!

Trying to cross from the curb and get through the freeway-bound traffic would be a nightmare!

I hate being passed on the right, and try to avoid any road that allows such behavior.

I sometimes use this alternate left turn method, to avoid collisions, from the right side.

Another thing I've seen done with those no-man's-land areas is a bright yellow (or red, or even red/yellow striped) ~6" very square cornered curb. Low enough a vehicle (emergency vehicle) can get over it slowly if absolutely necessary, but guaranteed to be extremely painful if not damaging at >5mph.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=SMIDGAF

Actually first read about its use here of BF.

This is what I also do (without the little sidewalk loop) with heavy intersections like Winant/Sylvan Ave (Rt 46) to turn left onto Bergen Tpke. I just slow down and/or stop if needed before the intersection. Look for cars turning right behind me. Cross with the bike on the ped walkway to the other side. Stop and turn 90 degrees to face the way I want to go. But this doesn't really help in the OPs case. Its an unusual intersection with the two turn lanes on the right with the bike lane on the left (in the middle). In the OP's intersection, I would also just stay in the bike lane and stop as needed for cars and trucks breaking the law to cross into a lane on the left. I really haven't come across an intersection like the one above in my NJ/NYC area.

I'm surprised you were still anywhere near the truck as it merged. I always try to be to the first to the other side of the intersection if I'm in the queue when the light turns green and trucks normally start very slow. This seems to me to be the kind of conflict that bike boxes can help with -- that way you get a head start and better visibility as a bonus.

Even if the truck did not get lefter and lefter, I would try my best to avoid being next to a large truck especially when it's moving (in whatever direction).

As for the OP, that road sucks.

The only way it could be improved is with a physical divider of some sort.

In China there is almost always a curb, or a barrier of some kind that usually prevents this kind of stupidity on high traffic roads.

I'm also not a fan of fences and walls on narrow roads that don't have enough room for a proper bike lane.

The best bike lanes with dividers are more than 3 meters wide, if there is less than that, dividers often cause more problems than they solve.