Does DBD::Oracle handle failover for RAC?

Dear List,

I posted this questions to perl.dbi.users but I understand that the 
mailing list is a better place to get information.

I am experiencing a problem in which, when one node of my 11g RAC fails, 
all the connections to that node get hung for a while.  Some 
applications support transparent failover, but Googl'ing around suggests 
that DBD::Oracle doesn't.  For example,

     http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_dbi_dbd_features.htm

says "No failover capabilities whatsoever are built in DBD::Oracle."

Now, I'm hoping that's just an old article; it's about version 1.17.

I can give more details about what my particular database and client 
versions are, but I'd rather not.  If the answer is categorically "no" I 
won't bother, and if it's "yes, in certain circumstances" I'm willing to 
work to make those circumstances obtain.

Thanks for your help,

dave