Yeah, the idea of policing pedestrian outfits irks me. You don’t need a license to walk. You don’t need training, or to pass a test. There are no regulations written about what equipment a person must wear out in public to avoid collisions.
Operating a motor vehicle does come with those rules and responsibilities. Including headlights!
Besides, a lot of winter coats are mostly available in dark colours. They are fashionable, practical, and show stains less. Is someone supposed to buy an expensive second coat for walking around at night in? Stash a high-vis vest in their purse for when night falls at 5pm, and they are still out, on their way home from work?
When I have these discussions in-person, sometimes they say, “Oh but when they dash out across the middle of a highway and they’re wearing all black, even headlights don’t help!” Well, of course if they are suddenly darting across the road, crossing mid-block, of course that’s dangerous! It wouldn’t be okay if they were wearing a suit of glowsticks! There are rules against “jaywalking,” but not against wearing navy blue!
Even if safety reflectors become widely adopted- let’s suppose that workers leaving the office at 5pm put one on, clubbers at midnight have them, whatever - then won’t motorists come to expect to see them? And if they hit someone, people might say, “Well, she wasn’t wearing safety reflectors - what do you expect?”