HTTP 408 error after a session timout on the login page

Issue

With FORM based authentication, when users park on the login.jsp page for some  time, they receive a 408 error telling them that the session has timed out when they input their credentials to submit the form to the  j_security_check page.

The 408 error is happening in IE 7. In Firefox, the following error text is shown, along with a warning symbol:

"The connection was reset

The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading.

   *   The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few
          moments.

   *   If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network
          connection.

   *   If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
          that Firefox is permitted to access the Web."

Is there an easy and/or elegant way to intercept  this error and create a new jsession?