Day 186: Swimming Etiquette

I may have discussed this topic before in some way, but I was reminded again about folks who practice poor swimming etiquette this morning when I ended up whacking an older gentleman on the back with my hand paddles as he was exiting the pool. 

So how did this happen?  I was in the edge lane closest to the CAC facility, and he was in the lane next to me, one of the two middle lanes.  The edge lane I was in happens to have a built-in ladder at the end closest to the door, and folks who aren't able to propel themselves out of the pool on their own often need to use this ladder (or the ladder in the other edge lane at the far end).

As I approached the end of my lane, I saw a pair of legs on the middle step of the ladder, but I wasn't able to stop my momentum in time to avoid hitting the owner of those legs, who was the older gentleman from the lane next to mine.

What I really don't understand is that this is not the first time I've had this experience with a fellow swimmer!  And here's the deal: The pool is 25 yards long, and the ladder occupies at most the last 2 yards of the lane.  That means that folks using the ladder when someone else, such as myself, is swimming laps in that lane has a good 46 yards of time and space to enter or exit without causing any sort of conflict or contact with the lap swimmer.

So why do some people seem to have such difficulty coordinating their timing???  Grrr.