scott wrote:


> should only move out to the left to overtake someone, 

Are you sure? About the 'only', I mean.  New York State Law does say 
that the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in 
favor of the overtaking vehicle on audible signal, 'except when 
overtaking and passing on the right is permitted' (which it probably is 
in the situations you are describing)

and secondly you
> are not allowed to pass anyone on the right side (there are some 
> exceptions for queues etc).  

In NY traffic Law the notion of 'safely' comes into it.  So if you 
cannot pass to the right 'safely' then you cannot do it.  But in 
general, if there are two or more unobstructed traffic lanes in the same 
direction, you are allowed to pass on the right. (Got a copy of Vehicle 
& Traffic Law for State of New York right in front of my eyes here, it's 
Section 1123)



> 
> As anyone who has driven probably knows already, the problem comes when 
> someone stays in the left lane when they are not overtaking anyone and 
> you want to go faster than them.  What are you meant to do if you are 
> behind them in this situation?  What if you are directly behind in the 
> same lane, or what if you approach them in the right lane?
> 
> I always wanted to ask someone in authority this question as appears 
> there is no perfect option.
> 
> For me I usually wait around 5 seconds behind them in the same lane, 
> then usually pull over to the right lane and wait there for a further 
> 5-10 seconds leaving them plenty of space to pull over if they want.  If 
> they still do not move then I usually accelerate and swiftly pass on the 
> right being ready to move over into the hard shoulder if they suddenly 
> decide to change lanes.
> 
> My girlfriend says that I should flash them and not overtake on the 
> right, but IME this is easily interpretted as quite aggressive behaviour 
> and could lead to more problems (eg them still not moving over or even 
> worse deliberate braking or other aggressive behaviour).
> 
> What do you do?
> 
> 

I would pass safely to the right unless I really needed that lane to 
exit or turn, in which case I would just follow the other car.  Which 
brings up something you haven't factored in.  Certainly around metro NY 
multi-lane roadways are complex to the point where drivers cannot assume 
that the left lane will function solely as a passing lane for any great 
distance.  You constantly have traffic entering or exiting the roadway 
from the left, and navigating here is often about lane choice well in 
advance of a maneuver you want to make.

In the hyper-pressurized driving conditions around NYC one common 
practice is to give a soft waring toot before passing, if the 
circumstance seems a little unconventional, (ie. to the right in some 
situations,) or potentially dangerous in some way.

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