At my pool (I swim 3X/week) - the first lane is for designated Non-swimmers. Those pool walkers & water aerobic types. That helps cut down on traffic for the lap swimmers. I swim for an hour so I usually out last anyone I'm sharing a lane with. I've managed to figure out how to time my swim so that mostly the same retired folks are there. Not too many splashers & I only shared a lane once with the Iron Butterfly variety & he only swam one lap of butterfly. It was his last lap, and he politely asked me if it was ok. I took a break for that less than a minute it took him to cover the ground & then he was gone. But yeah - sharing a lane with another human is hard at times. I'm a slow - very slow swimmer - so I know I annoy the hell out of any 'real' swimmer who is stuck in my lane with me. Karma, I suppose for all the ways they've annoyed others. ;)