No, it's definitely illegal, at least by the letter of the law.

But as long as you're only going a few miles over the speed limit for a few moments, nobody's going to write you a ticket for it.

One of many situations where the law in theory and practical application differ, since officers are given discretion (read: ability to apply common sense) in their duties.

It's not a perfect system, but it's what we've got.

Not in my state. And probably few, if any others. But it is a safety thing. The longer you spend in the oncoming lane completing a pass, the higher the risk of a collision (cars pulling out of driveways into the lane, people misjudging distances, etc.).

There's also what I've observed (not sure if there's an official name for it), that if you pass someone slowly, they will "lock tractor beams" onto you and start to match your speed. So you want to have a noticeable speed difference between your vehicles to prevent this.

Some good anecdotes here: https://www.quora.com/Have-you-ever-been-pulled-over-for-goi...

Oof, that one about the misidentified blue Camry sounds maddening.