How does lane swimming work if I am a very slow swimmer?

No one has ever tapped my foot and I would be very displeased if they did, cheeky gits.

I swim in the evenings as mornings seem to be more "serious" swimmers ploughing up and down. In the evening I am fast lane material and certainly would not be in the morning!

I can also recommend looking for the women only sessions. These are generally nicer in terms of manners, and less crowded.

Hi there! Well done for going swimming!
I have been a very avid swimmer in my time (not so much at the moment with small children and a hectic life - but hopefully I’ll get back to it). These are my thoughts on swimming lane etiquette - others may have other ideas.

If you are a slow swimmer then choosing the slow lane is correct and helpful to everyone else - so good start (not actually something everyone manages to do!!). You need to stick to one side of the lane and, if it’s busy, you’ll be swimming in a circle - up one side and down the other (you’ve probably already worked this out). As another poster has said, if you have someone faster coming up behind pausing briefly at the end of the lane allows them to go past without overtaking (generally a bit more pleasant for everyone), but you only need to think of that if they’re right behind you - if they’re still half a lap away, you just carry on with your swim and leave them to sort out overtaking as needs be. In terms of the foot touching mentioned in a previous response, I’m in two minds - in my experience good swimmers will sort themselves out without bothering you (they’ll get ready to overtake at the end or will speed up to overtake while there is a gap between swimmers coming towards you etc).
Not all swimmers are great at recognising that the space is shared, so the more of us that do, the better. I like to think of it a bit like dancing - everyone has their own rhythm and is doing their own thing and we should each be trying to facilitate others in the space without breaking our own rhythm.
Most importantly, the fact that you’re even thinking about it sets you apart from a great number of people. And as other have said, just keep going and it’ll all start to feel more familiar. But no one who is sharing the space is too slow to take part! Enjoy!!

At the end of the lanes i always ask faster swimmers if they want to go first.
At my local ex council leisure centre they have rehab sessions, might be worth looking into.

Slow lane is completely fine, those overtaking would be the ones having to decid if they are in the wrong lane. There are always people swimming slower lengths on the main body of the pool as well, when I go.

Definitely keep going, you'll only get faster and fitter!

I always swim in the slow lane. I keep to the side as much as possible so there is room for people to overtake me if they want to go a bit faster. Although they should probably just move over a lane if they keep overtaking you

As everyone else said, if you're in the slow lane then the other person can move up a lane if they want to go faster. However I do find the speeds vary at different times of day. I can be in the slow, middle or fast lane, depending on who else is swimming at that time of day. During the working day a lot of older people swim so the pace tends to be a bit slower overall.

You’re doing the right thing by being in the slow lane. Just let people through if they are catching you up (no one has tapped my toe yet thank goodness!). Try different times of day too- at my pool, the earlier slots tend to be the ‘keener’ swimmers so can feel quite fast. If I go at 8am instead then it’s more my pace!

The rule at my pool is if you’re constantly over taking someone then you’re the problem and need to move into a faster lane! Swimming slowly in the slow lane is fine!

You stay in the slow lane and if someone is behind you you let them pass at the end of the lane.

Thank god no one at my pool has done the toe tapping thing, I think I’d shoot out of the pool and you couldn’t pay me enough to touch anyone else’s foot.

I only heard of the toe tap thing recently and hate it. Apart from not wanting any man or women touching my feet, many people have foot of toe problems (ingrowing/fungal nails, joint issues etc) and it could be incredibly painful for some-until you have a problem, you won't realise how painful.
In this day and age, when there's so many more rules against touching people, how can this be ok?
Don't remember it back when I used to swim.

You were in the slow lane, so no problem that you have people over taking you. I say with anything, never decide on one visit. It’s school holidays, so that may have made a difference.
Enjoy your swimming.

You stay in the slow lane and if someone touches your foot you let them pass. You always let the faster swimmer go first at each end and if there’s only two in the lane you have half a lane each.