Funny you should mention that, GLC. I've got a green jersey that I won't wear on the road because the area has tons of trees. DBF thinks it's perfectly visible. It might be in AZ, because there's not a lot of bright green around. (Never mind that it's not really visible from a distance...)
There are a lot of the bright yellow maples around here. You probably would have a hard time picking out even high-vis yellow against that backdrop.

I agree that the choices often aren't there. I e-mailed the company who made my jacket, suggesting that they should make women's jackets in brighter colors. (They have three options, two of which are black with reflective designs.) They agreed, but they said they were limited by what their supplier gave them. Next jacket I buy will be yellow or orange...