You are driving a heavily loaded car. Why should you maintain a greater safety distance to the vehicle ahead?

You answered correctly. When your car is heavily loaded, the braking distance can increase because the additional weight requires more time and distance to bring the car to a stop. Also, the handling of the car may change—steering and stability might be affected due to the extra load. Both reasons mean it is important to increase your safety distance from the vehicle ahead. Reaction time itself does not change with the weight of the car, but how your vehicle responds after you react does. Always account for load when deciding your following distance.