Well - you are a firm believe in the system, yet you can't do anything as simple as even specifying what the system is.
To me that sounds like you like to complain, but aren't actually interested in a solution.
I've already provided my solution: "Allow a group to spend 5 minutes off the timer to suspend the timer and invite additional players to complete the run". Easy to implement, very specific and no automated penalty system to cause havoc.