Does DBD::Oracle handle failover for RAC?

Dear List,

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 DBD::Oracle
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