Car manufacturers and MVA response needs

It seems that car manufacturers are putting more and more barriers in their designs, but not against injury – but against DIY-type owners who may want to do a little self-maintenance. Point in case, the VW Touareg, a five-seat SUV, which I had the chance to see involved in a MVA two days ago. This is how the vehicle ended up, with the occupants sustaining minor injuries (click on the image for the photostream of the run):

When we found the battery in order to disconnect the positive, we found this plate over it, held down by a very tight, I would call it “male” Torx screw:

A forum post led me to this part drawing for a Mini, and also to a manufacturer of female Torx sockets. Nobody on our crew carried a driver bit for this thing, so we ended up forcing open the whole plate. It seems very lame for manufacturers to try and stop users from replacing their batteries, at the same hampering the efforts of rescue crews attending MVAs.