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GREENSBORO — Rob Cushing notices things while driving, things that other people wouldn’t pick up. A white number on a white house. The first and last addresses of each block.

“When I’m in the car with my wife, I’ll say, 'Oh, look at that address. They placed that nicely,’ ” Cushing says.

Her response?

“Why are you doing that?”

It’s a byproduct of the job, of the hours he’s spent in his car as a graphic analyst. For the past nine years, he’s worked for NAVTEQ, a mapping company that provides data for groups like Mapquest, AAA and Sony. The company has about 4,000 employees in 39 countries.

Out of their office in Cary, Cushing and Yolanda Long cover part of the state. It’s a full-time job, with up to half of their hours clocked on the road.

Driving east on Interstate 40 in Greensboro, the two analysts see signs that have been updated in NAVTEQ’s system multiple times in the past few years, as the city redirected roads for the Urban Loop and then returned to the original routes after people complained.

“That still says Business 40,” Long says, pointing back at a ramp sign. “That’s supposed to just be 40.”

She marks the change on a digital pen tablet. At the office, she’ll double check NAVTEQ’s maps to make sure they have it right.

The maps always mirror the on-ground signs, not necessarily what the city plans to label them.

“I know (the signs) are being updated but we can’t put that in unless it’s ground-true,” Cushing says.

So, for about 15 hours a week, the two drive down dirt roads and four-lane expressways, marking addresses, speed limits and one-way signs.

On the roof of their car, six cameras collect video of everything around them.

• There is now a Dollar Car Rental at the airport.
• High View Road is two words, not one.
• A sign was removed at exit 126-A on I-40.

Once each quarter, their updates are sent to NAVTEQ clients. If GPS systems are leading Greensboro travelers astray, the problem should be fixed in the next round of updates.

Although many Greensboro residents questioned the need for the interstate changes, for Cushing and Long, it’s just another part of the job.

“I read about it and I understand why they did it,” Cushing says. “It’s just part of the business.”

The job may seem monotonous, but there are always new projects and points of interest to map.

In March, the two traveled to Puerto Rico to help develop the NAVTEQ database there. It was a nice job, but the chickens in the road and four-word street names in Spanish made it a challenge.

“There was a lot more slowing down and stopping,” Long says.

The two analysts got lucky. Both have always liked driving. Neither suffers from car sickness.

But sometimes unexpected delays — such as being confronted with a firearm — make the job less desirable.

It happened to Cushing a few years ago while mapping a rural Virginia town. The owner of the first house on a dirt road approached the car, gun in hand. Cushing rolled down the window — just an inch or two — and explained their job.

“He said, 'You should turn around right now,’ ” Cushing remembers. “I said, 'Ok. I’ll turn around right now.’ ”

Sometimes, the map isn’t worth it.

Contact Tricia L. Nadolny at tricia.nadolny@news-record.com or 373-7028