I don't think people are arguing that a pedestrian has an absolute "right to be avoided every time they step into a street". But many of us (I think) do believe

I don't think people are arguing that a pedestrian has an absolute "right to be avoided every time they step into a street". But many of us (I think) do believe that a driver -- or an autonomous driving system -- does have some responsibility to take reasonable care to avoid accidents, regardless of who has the right of way. While the concept of right of way may often have a bearing on who is held at fault for an accident, it does not -- or at least should not -- entirely absolve the driver of any responsibility to drive attentively and carefully in all circumstances. In this case, it does sounds to me as though the pedestrian was at fault -- particularly in the context of AZ law -- but it also sounds as though both Uber and the "safety" driver were seriously negligent in their responsibilities, and their negligence was a major contributory factor in the pedestrian's death. They should be held to account.