Staying in lane 1 is predictable and helps to avoid confusion.
I do believe that if you see/hear someone a reasonable distance behind you, going to lane 2/3 is an acceptable move.
Ex. The one time I got lapped was an indoor 4x8 (long story short the first leg bombed, like 10-15 seconds slower than his PR). When getting the handoff I could see that being lapped was imminent so I just went into lane 2.