This. I'm not talking about expressway driving, here--I'm talking surface-streets, where you've got two lanes (one in each direction) plus an additional parking lane on one or both sides. It is true that this parking lane is not meant for through travel. However, in Chicago, there are times when it is necessary to use it to briefly pass the person who is insisting on trying to turn left at an uncontrolled side-street intersection during the middle of rush hour. It is also quite common, when stuck behind someone who is traveling below the posted speed limit for no apparent reason other than a concern that their vehicle is incapable of managing 30 mph, to use it to bypass them, typically at a stoplight. (The maneuver goes like this--slow driver stops at intersection. Faster driver pulls up and around them, on the right. Normally, this would only be done if you were planning on turning right, but the intersection does not actually have a right-turn lane marked out, either. When the light changes, then, the faster driver accelerates solidly--normally, unless the slower driver suddenly decides he needs to be in front, the passing is done smoothly and with little or no fuss.)

This isn't to say that all pass-on-the-right is considered kosher in Chicago--there are definitely places where it's just as dickish as anyplace else. However, it's an adaptation to a situation where passing in any other way is impossible, yet both reasonable and desirable.

Passing the guy who's making a Los Angeles left is kosher. Passing the guy who's just driving slower than you want to is a dick move.

I'm beginning to think that this topic deserves its own thread.

Passing the guy who's making a Los Angeles left is kosher. Passing the guy who's just driving slower than you want to is a dick move.

Obstructing traffic is a dick move too.

I drive in the city, and I drive in the suburbs. There are different rules and expectations. In Detroit, the "Chicago style" mentioned above is standard... even polite. If you are in the city (I'm guessing any city) you should know that passing on the right is acceptable and encouraged since it helps eliminate back ups caused buy shitty (slow) drivers.