diff --git a/includes/lock.inc b/includes/lock.inc
index 7dd8db3..00d2c1c 100644
--- a/includes/lock.inc
+++ b/includes/lock.inc
@@ -164,7 +164,13 @@ function lock_acquire($name, $timeout = 30.0) {
  *   TRUE if there is no lock or it was removed, FALSE otherwise.
  */
 function lock_may_be_available($name) {
-  $lock = db_query('SELECT expire, value FROM {semaphore} WHERE name = :name', array(':name' => $name))->fetchAssoc();
+  try {
+    $lock = db_query('SELECT expire, value FROM {semaphore} WHERE name = :name', array(':name' => $name))->fetchAssoc();
+  }
+  catch (PDOException $e) {
+    file_put_contents('/tmp/lock.log', "Exception in lock_may_be_available!!\n", FILE_APPEND);
+    return FALSE;
+  }
   if (!$lock) {
     return TRUE;
   }