TEENS NEED DRUNKEN DRIVING ALERT.(MAIN)

Byline: LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Rates of teenagers who drink and drive dropped dramatically in the last decade, but those reductions now have leveled off, says a new study raising concern among alcohol experts.

The prevalence of teen drunken driving fell about 40 percent between 1984 and 1997, says the study by Patrick O'Malley of the University of Michigan.

But a closer examination of the 1990s showed the progress may have peaked in 1992, O'Malley reported Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health. Since then, teen drunken driving rates have largely held steady -- although he did find a slight, not statistically …