The Traffic Jam

m y family and i were on our way to pennsylvania and it was the middle of a snowstorm.  we were almost there when we got stuck in a huge traffic jam. cars stretched ahead of us and behind us as far as we could see.  we sat in the same spot without moving for seven hours.  we checked periodically to see if the cars ahead of us were moving, which they never had been.  because there was a large 18-wheeler truck in front of us, my mom had to open the door and stand up on the ledge of the car to see around the 18-wheeler to get a view of the traffic jam in front of us.  all we could do was sit and wait.  at no time during the dilemma did any of us fall asleep or stop paying attention in any way, because we were always checking up on the traffic in front of us and behind us.  we sat for hours and heard nothing about the cause of the traffic jam from the radio, and the only person we talked to was a truck driver who was next to us, who didn't know anything about it either.  finally, after seven hours, the truck in front of us began moving slowly and we were happy to get moving, but when we looked in front of the truck, there were absolutely NO cars to be seen, and NONE behind us, besides one 18-wheeler.  the only other vehicle besides those was the one of the trucker that had been next to us the whole time.  there were no signs of a traffic jam the entire rest of our trip, it was as though the cars had all disappeared.  all we passed was the occasional car on the side of the road that looked like they'd been abandoned for hours.  keep in mind that this jam had to stretch for at least 20 miles...maybe more.  no cars could pass us from behind because the shoulders were much too narrow.  to this day we have no explanation as to how this could have happened...it's like we went into the twilight zone.  does anybody have an experience similar to this, or know if there is a name for this certain type of experience?